When there is an issue for Nagisa, you can always count on Akeela to save the day! Strong girls? Smart guys? Sounds like a job for Akeela!
—
“I cannot let this stand!” Akeela roared, slamming open the doors of the Grand Library of Unending Chaos, which was still not technically her property, but she continued using it like it unquestionably was.
Books on forbidden love rituals, interdimensional dating guides, and cosmic matchmaking myths rattled on their shelves from the impact. A suspicious owl blinked awake at the commotion, decided this nonsense wasn’t worth its time, and went back to pretending it was a statue.
Akeela, the half-shark girl and self-proclaimed maid of the dark goddess Nagisa, stormed inside like a woman who had just discovered a crime against romance. Which, in her mind, she absolutely had.
Her tail swished furiously behind her, leaving little damp footprints across the marble floor. This still made no sense given her professional high heels, but by now reality knew better than to argue with her. She carried no books, only righteous fury and a very questionable plan.
She stomped up to the large table at the back, where a glowing crystal screen hovered over a stack of scrolls labeled “DO NOT TOUCH (ESPECIALLY DURING COSMIC LOVE CRISES).” She touched them anyway.
With a dramatic spin, Akeela plopped into the chair, cracked her knuckles, and began typing furiously with her gloved fingers.
“Nagisa-sama apparently prefers relationships where the girl is strong and the guy is smart,” Akeela muttered, eyes narrowed at the screen.
She hit ENTER and scrolled, grumbling under her breath. “She’s been watching so many worlds… and none of these have it!”
Her finned ears pressed flat with indignation. This was worse than she thought. “Smart guys are all over, they are not the problem. Strong girls everywhere too. Sure, they could be stronger, be eh, it's fine. But god forbid if there is at least one measly couple where they’re together! This is a relationship imbalance of cosmic proportions!”
Her eyes widened in outrage. She slammed a hand on the table so hard the crystal screen flickered.
“Outrageous. Unforgivable. A maid like me CANNOT let that stand! I have to do something!” she declared, practically vibrating with determination.
Without further ado, Akeela leapt up and began yanking books off the shelves at random. Tomes flew and thudded to the floor around her like very disappointed encyclopedias.
“Okay… cross-dimensional couple data… legendary love stories… heroic girlfriends… nerdy boyfriends… ugh, nothing!” She flipped through pages at lightning speed, then tossed one book over her shoulder. It thumped onto a pile behind her. “Maybe… matchmaking spells… buff potions… brain-boosting rituals… interspecies romance case studies…wait—”
Her fingers froze as a particular search result blinked into view on the crystal screen. One title glowed brightly:
“Quintessential Quintuplets: Five sisters, one academically gifted boy.”
“…Huh.” Akeela leaned closer, frowning in curiosity. The entry was from a suspicious-looking wiki called HaremArchives.com, complete with gaudy pink heart graphics. But the details looked promising.
“Academically gifted high school boy tutors five identical sisters,” she read aloud, eyes darting over the summary. “Boy is a top student… the sisters are capable (if they applied themselves)… Already a tutor-student relationship in place…” A slow grin spread over her sharp-toothed smile. “That’s a smart guy surrounded by potential strong girls! And who has most likely already picked the strongest one to be his beloved! That's genius!”
Yes. Yes, this had potential. Five times the potential, in fact.
As if to confirm her thoughts, another tab popped up on its own, displaying an obnoxious pop-up headline: “Brawn + Brains = Perfect Couple, Study Finds.” Below it, in smaller text: Leading experts quietly agree on this obvious fact.
Akeela smacked the table triumphantly, causing a nearby candelabra to snuff out in protest. “I SEE IT NOW!” she practically sang. “If the perfect strong-girl-smart-guy couple doesn’t exist, I’ll just create it myself!”
Her frilled ears fluttered with excitement, and her small shark teeth gleamed in a manic grin. This was the answer Nagisa-sama deserved.
“I need to find the ideal candidates and fix this imbalance at once!” Akeela declared. Without another word, she spun on her heel and marched toward the familiar shallow puddle in the corner of the library. No one knew why that puddle was always there. Some said it was a leftover tear in reality from millennia ago. Others said it was Akeela’s fault from, like, an hour ago.
She didn’t hesitate. With a dramatic bound, Akeela dove in headfirst.
SPLOOSH.
The puddle rippled, shimmered… and then stilled.
Akeela was gone.
A new mission had begun.
—
It was a calm afternoon at the Nakano household. Sunlight slanted through the living room window onto a table strewn with textbooks and notebooks. Fuutarou Uesugi sat at that table with his brow furrowed in concentration, a stack of math problems in front of him. Across from him, Ichika Nakano twirled her pencil lazily between her fingers, far more interested in her tutor’s serious face than the equations on the page.
“Earth to Ichika,” Fuutarou sighed, tapping one of the worksheets. “If angle A is 30 degrees here, then what’s angle B?”
Ichika propped her chin on her hand and gave a playful smile. “Hmm, maybe… do I get a movie date if I get it right?”
Fuutarou nearly dropped his pencil. His cheeks pinked as he sputtered, “Th-that’s not how tutoring works!”
She giggled, enjoying his fluster. Before he could regain composure, a low rippling sound interrupted the moment. The glass of water sitting by Fuutarou’s elbow trembled. Little concentric waves formed on its surface, the liquid inside sloshing as if something had plucked at reality’s fabric.
Fuutarou and Ichika both paused. Their eyes shifted to the quivering glass.
“Is that an earthquake…?” Ichika began, but the floor wasn’t shaking… only the water was.
The gentle ripple turned into a boil. Bubbling. Frothing.
Fuutarou leaned back, instinctively pulling Ichika’s worksheet away from the splashing drops. “That’s… definitely not normal.”
KRRRSSSH!
The glass exploded in a burst of shimmering water and sparkles. Shards and droplets went flying. A shape burst forth from the tiny vessel, enlarging impossibly mid-air. With a wet thud, something (or someone) landed square in the middle of the living room table, atop scattered notes and open textbooks.
“FOR NAGISA-SAMAAAAA!!” bellowed a voice, echoing off the walls. Righteous fury and unhinged enthusiasm rolled together in that battle cry.
Ichika yelped and nearly fell out of her chair. Fuutarou jerked backward, knocking over his own water bottle. Papers fluttered everywhere. A single mechanical pencil launched into the air and clattered to the floor.
In the sudden silence that followed, the last droplets of water dripped off the table’s edge. Where there had just been empty air, a girl now crouched amid the ruined remains of the glass and notes. Smoke (or was that steam?) curled dramatically around her.
She slowly rose to a standing position on the table, striking a pose as if she’d rehearsed this entrance a thousand times. Red-and-white hair cascaded over a pristine black-and-white maid uniform that somehow remained mostly dry despite her aquatic arrival. A massive shark tail swished behind her, scattering a few index cards as it swung, absolutely acting like it owned the place.
Ichika and Fuutarou stared in dumbfounded silence. A single ice cube, flung from the exploded glass, plopped onto the floor between them.
“…What,” Fuutarou managed at last, eyes wide behind his dark bangs.
Ichika blinked hard, then, in true performer fashion, she let out a shaky laugh and gave a small golf clap. “I— I’ll give that entrance a solid 9 out of 10,” she quipped, raising an eyebrow. “Very, um… dramatic.”
Akeela planted her soaked boots on a half-closed trigonometry textbook, hands on her hips. Water dripped off the tip of her shark fin ears. She surveyed the two stunned humans before her with a broad grin.
“I have arrived,” Akeela announced grandly, pointing a gloved finger at Ichika, then at Fuutarou, “to correct a grievous imbalance in this world! To forge the ultimate example of love! A strong girl and a smart guy united in glorious harmony!”
She flourished one arm and flashed a wild smile at Ichika, who instinctively leaned back in her chair. “And I have chosen… YOU!” Akeela declared, eyes practically sparkling with mania as she zeroed in on Ichika.
Ichika put a hand to her chest, eyes rounding. “M-me?”
“Yes, you!” Akeela continued emphatically, as if addressing a captivated audience instead of two very confused teenagers. Her coat collar fluttered despite the lack of any breeze in the room. “Fuutarou Uesugi—” she gestured toward the baffled boy, then back to Ichika, “—requires a properly powerful girlfriend to fulfill Nagisa-sama’s favorite relationship dynamic. And you, Ichika Nakano, shall become that strong girl!”
Fuutarou, still half out of his seat, finally found his voice. “Hold on… girlfriend!? What are y—”
“We’re not even dating ye—” Ichika began, cheeks suddenly a tad pink.
“Details!” Akeela interrupted briskly, slicing the air with her hand. Minor specifics like whether the pair was an actual couple were not about to impede her mission. “You two fit the criteria, that’s all that matters. Smart boy, meet soon-to-be strong girl.” She nodded decisively, then mused to herself, “Although… hmm, you’ll need a lot more muscle for this, I think. Maybe… like three times more? Something like that. And a couple extra feet of height should do it.”
Ichika’s mouth fell open. More muscle? Extra feet of height? She half-laughed, half-stammered, “Um, I-I think I’m plenty tall already, thank you—”
Akeela ignored the protest. Her eyes darted around and locked onto the small puddle of glowing water still shimmering on the tabletop from her entrance. Perfect.
With lightning speed, Akeela scooped up a palmful of the water that pooled between scattered flashcards. Before Ichika could even finish her nervous chuckle, Akeela lunged across the table and FLUNG the sparkling water straight at her.
“Hey—!” Ichika barely managed to yelp as the water splashed across her front.
Fuutarou’s eyes went wide. “What are you—?!”
Akeela watched intently, a grin tugging at her lips. The transformation was instant. The puddle water glowed faintly where it soaked into Ichika’s clothes.
Ichika gasped, bolting upright from her chair. A strange warmth flooded through her body. She stared down at her hands in alarm. “I… I feel weird…!”
Akeela smirked. Now came the fun part.
Ichika’s brown eyes went even wider as she watched her fingers thicken, the tendons standing out as her grip unintentionally crushed the pencil she’d been holding. Crack. The pencil snapped in two between her tightening fingers.
Her whole body tensed. Muscles came alive, swelling beneath her skin.
“W-woah… okay… what’s happening?!” Ichika stammered, stumbling back a step. Her chair screeched across the floor as her hip bumped it, because she was growing. So much so that it was visible with the naked eye.
Fuutarou could only stare in awe (and mounting horror) as Ichika’s height shot upward by inches at a time. Before his eyes, she inched past his eye level… then a head taller… then even more.
The loose casual blouse Ichika wore began to pull taut across a midriff that suddenly wasn’t so soft. As she clutched at her stomach, defined ridges of abdominal muscles pressed against the fabric. The outline of a burgeoning six-pack emerged where there had definitely not been one a minute ago.
Her sleeves strained next. Ichika’s arms, once slender, swelled with sudden strength. Her biceps expanded so fast the sleeves of her blouse grew snug, then skin-tight, then—riiip! A seam at her shoulder gave way as a round, powerful muscle bulged out. Ichika yelped in surprise, instinctively flexing… only to have the cuff of her sleeve tear completely off and flutter to the ground.
“Oh my—!” Ichika’s voice pitched higher in astonishment. She grabbed at her arm, feeling the solid curve of muscle there. Her fingers didn’t even wrap halfway around. “This… this is—”
Her growth spurt wasn’t done. Ichika’s legs lengthened and hardened with athletic curves, lifting her even higher off the ground. In seconds, her simple skirt was considerably farther from the floor than it had been, revealing thighs that looked like they could crack coconuts. The fabric of her black tights strained over quads that were suddenly thicker than Fuutarou’s waist. A single surprised step from Ichika left a faint crunch in the hardwood floor as her weight and strength accidentally pressed too hard.
Fuutarou instinctively shuffled back, nearly tripping over a fallen book. His mind raced to make sense of the impossible. One moment he’d been tutoring and the next, his student was… was turning into some kind of muscled amazon right in front of him. “Ichika…?” he breathed, not even sure what to ask first.
Ichika’s transformation finally eased to a stop. She stood panting, towering nearly to the ceiling. Her once-loose outfit was now a hopelessly undersized crop-top and skirt combo stretched over an imposing, sculpted physique. Beads of sweat (or leftover water) glistened on her skin.
She looked down… way down… at Fuutarou, who now barely came up to her shoulder. Her chest rose and fell as she caught her breath. Every inhale showed off the sharp definition of her new abs, every exhale strained what remained of her poor blouse. Ichika flexed her fingers experimentally, marveling at the strength she felt coursing through her limbs.
A slow smile crept across her face. “Oh… wow.” She turned her arm and stared at it. Where before there had been a toned but unremarkable upper arm, there was now a softball-sized bicep curving under her skin. “This is… amazing!”
Absolutely enamored, Ichika struck a little pose, popping one hip out and flexing her right arm. A hard peak rose on her bicep. She let out a delighted laugh. “Check me out! I have abs! And—” she placed a hand on her hip, feeling the firm muscle there “—wow, definitely never had these before!”
Akeela clapped excitedly from atop the table, scattering a few more papers. “Yes! Behold, the strong girl is born!”
Fuutarou’s jaw worked up and down, but no sensible words found their way out. He was staring at Ichika as though she’d turned into a mythical creature. In fairness, a few moments ago she’d been a normal teenage girl. Now she looked like an Olympian warrior goddess squeezed into a too-small outfit, grinning like Christmas had come early.
Ichika noticed Fuutarou’s dumbstruck expression and gave a playful twirl, nearly knocking over a lamp with her outstretched arm as she did so. “S-So…” she began, trying to sound casual despite her giddy excitement, “what do you think, Fuutarou?” She playfully flexed an arm again, and Fuutarou’s face somehow went even redder. “Do I, uh, meet your expectations?” she teased with a wink.
Fuutarou made a strangled sound in the back of his throat. "Expectations?! I… This… How…?!” was all he managed. It wasn’t clear if he was trying to ask how this happened or how he was supposed to react to his now gigantically buff study partner.
Any further awkwardness was swiftly interrupted by the bang of the front door flying open.
“Ichika? I heard screaming—” Nino Nakano’s sharp voice cut off abruptly as she rushed into the living room, still in her apron from cooking. She stopped dead, nearly dropping the tray of snacks she was carrying.
Her eyes flitted up… and up… taking in the impossible sight of her eldest sister now towering like an amazon. “W-What on Earth…?!” Nino sputtered.
Ichika spun around at the sound, her long legs nearly tangling with the coffee table. “Nino! Uh… I can explain?” she offered, though she also couldn’t resist straightening her posture to show off just a little. “Yeah, no… honestly I can’t explain this even if I tried. But I can say that it was this shark lady's fault, not mine this time.”
Nino’s gaze swung to Akeela, who was still perched on the table with a self-satisfied grin. Then to Fuutarou, who looked utterly shell-shocked. Then back to her now-muscular sister. She set the tray of snacks down slowly (never mind that she set it on a bookshelf instead of a table, eyes glued to Ichika’s new physique).
“What did you DO to my sister?!” Nino snapped, finding her voice again. She marched forward, purple twin-tails swishing angrily behind her. Her sharp glare fixed on Akeela. Only someone truly fearless, or truly foolish, would dare mess with the Nakano family under Nino’s watch. And this strange shark-toothed maid girl looked plenty foolish.
Akeela hopped down from the table, high heels clicking on the wet floor. Now that Ichika had finished growing, Akeela barely came up to her boobs in height, but the half-shark maid didn’t appear the least bit intimidated by the seething Nino stomping toward her. If anything, Akeela looked annoyed at the interruption.
“Ah, you must be her identical twin. Don’t worry, my mission is already completed. I have already created the perfect strong girl and smart guy cou…,” Akeela said, squinting at Nino’s face and then at Ichika’s. The resemblance was unmistakable… aside from the fact that Ichika was now built like a champion bodybuilder. Inconveniently, Nino looked nearly the same as Ichika had before the transformation. For a split second, Akeela’s confident grin faltered. A terrible realization dawned: Had she picked the wrong sister?!
She did see the two of them together, Ichika and Fuutarou were definitely alone in a room. But, they weren't doing anything… couple-like. What if Ichika was simply borrowed by Fuutarou for the purpose of learning and Nino was actually the one he was dating? After all, Ichika did say that she wasn’t dating Fuutarou…
Nino was not interested in Akeela’s deductions. She jabbed a finger at Akeela’s chest. “I don’t know who you are, shark-girl, but you’d better change my sister back right now or I—”
Akeela’s eye twitched. Did she get the wrong sister… The wrong sister?! If Nagisa-sama wanted a strong girl and she’d buffed the wrong one out of a set of twins, that would be an embarrassing failure. Her pride wouldn’t allow it. Unacceptable!
Not to mention Nino’s aggressive finger jabbing was poking dangerously close to Akeela’s ruffled maid collar. In no world would Akeela let someone wrinkle Nagisa’s gifted uniform without consequence.
“You think I made a mistake?” Akeela blurted out, interrupting Nino’s threat. Her frilled ears perked straight up, indignation radiating from every inch of her. “Hah! I do not make mistakes!”
Nino glared, hands on her hips. “Then explain what you did to Ichika… and what the heck you’re babbling about, ‘strong girls and smart guys’? Are you legally insane by chance?”
Akeela’s eye gave another twitch. Insane? Maybe a little. But she had a mission to complete. And right now, all she could see was another identical girl who, by cosmic coincidence or cruel fate, was not yet an amazonian muscle goddess like her sister yet had the same chance of actually being the one the smart guy, Fuutarou, was dating. A glaring possibility that Akeela simply couldn’t ignore.
“Ichika’s fine!” Akeela snapped, flustered and defensive. She cast a quick glance at Ichika, who was flexing an arm and admiring herself in the reflection of the TV screen. (Ichika caught Akeela’s look and flashed a thumbs-up, clearly very fine with her new condition.)
Akeela cleared her throat. “I merely improved her. But you…” she pointed dramatically at Nino, “...you look almost identical, which means…” Her face fell into a comically serious expression. “There’s a chance I may have buffed the wrong sister.”
Ichika’s eyes darted between Akeela and Nino. “Wrong… sister?” she echoed, tilting her head.
Nino looked outraged at the very implication that she was second choice for anything. “Excuse me?! Wrong sister? Buffed?! Change her back right now or I’ll—”
Akeela’s cheeks flushed the slightest bit (with embarrassment? fury? both?). “And I refuse… absolutely refuse to fail Nagisa-sama’s mission!” she stammered, talking over Nino’s demand. “If there’s even a tiny chance I enhanced the wrong sibling, then the solution is simple!” She flung her arm out to the side in a grand gesture, producing another cascade of magical water droplets from the puddles on the table and floor. Her crimson eyes practically blazed with overzealous determination.
Nino, mid-rant, suddenly had a split-second to realize what was about to happen. “Wait, what are you—”
“I’ll just transform you too!” Akeela cried out. There was a note of manic glee (and maybe panic) in her voice. Before Nino could dodge or protest, Akeela flicked her wrist and sent a sparkling splash of enchanted water flying straight at Nino’s face.
“Gack—!” Nino let out a very ungraceful squawk as the water hit her. She staggered back, wiping at her eyes. “Did you just throw water at m—”
Her complaint died on her tongue as a jolt of warmth shot through her, just like it had for Ichika. Nino’s hands dropped from her face and she gasped. The transformation magic wasted no time.
Nino’s whole body tensed rigid. “Oh no. Oh no no—” she babbled, heart racing as she felt an alien strength flooding her limbs.
Naturally her Initial reaction was pure shock. Nino’s legs wobbled, and she reached out blindly to steady herself against the wall. As she pressed her palm to the wall, an imprint of her hand slowly sank into the plaster. Her eyes went huge. “What the—?!”
Then it dawned on her: whatever Akeela had done to Ichika, it was now happening to her too. She could feel it clearly now, muscles tightening, stretching, swelling beneath her skin. Her apron suddenly felt far too tight, the fabric pulling across her torso like it had shrunk several sizes. Each breath expanded her chest more than the last until POP! The top button of her uniform shirt snapped off and pinged against the ceiling.
Nino glanced down in alarm as the apron strings dug sharply into her shoulders. The ribbon tied behind her neck strained as her traps and deltoids swelled upward, the knot tightening against her skin. “Wait—hold on—!” she muttered, quickly reaching back. Her fingers fumbled for a moment before she managed to yank the knot loose just in time. The top ribbon slipped free as her shoulders continued broadening, sparing it from snapping outright.
But the relief lasted only a second.
Her hips widened next, powerful muscles thickening through her waist and thighs. The lower ribbon of the apron, still tied snugly behind her back, stretched tight as her figure expanded. The cord strained harder and harder as her hips pushed outward—
RIP!
The lower tie finally gave way, tearing loose at her sides as the apron split open around her hips, unable to contain the powerful frame rapidly growing beneath it.
“Wh-what did you do to me?!” Nino cried, voice rising in alarm. She tried to take a step toward Akeela, but her legs had other plans. Her calves tightened and expanded, throwing off her balance. She ended up stumbling forward instead, knocking her hip into the dining table. The heavy oak table screeched an inch across the floor from the accidental blow.
Nino looked down at herself in growing horror. Her favorite teal house dress and apron were clinging to a body she barely recognized. Toned abs pressed against the fabric of her dress. Her sleeves were stretching to the limit around her arms. She could feel power thrumming in her now, but it only added to her panic. Nino prided herself on being fit, sure… but this was beyond anything normal!
Her transformation hit its climax with a final surge. Nino’s height shot up a few more inches, putting her eye-to-eye with Ichika’s chin… or would have, if Ichika wasn’t still a bit taller. In fact, Nino realized with a mix of dismay and competitive irritation that even after her own growth spurt, Ichika still edged her out by about an inch. Yet quickly tried to focus her thoughts on something else, anything else.
She held out her hands, staring at them. Her fingers trembled slightly, she wasn’t sure if from adrenaline or the sheer weight of her now thicker arms. “This… is…” Nino couldn’t finish the sentence. Insane? Terrifying? Incredible? All of the above.
Ichika sidled over (with heavy thuds of her feet) and gave Nino an apologetic smile. “S-so… you okay, sis?” she asked, trying not to grin. It was hard not to be at least a little amused, Nino’s tough-girl attitude hadn’t changed, but seeing her fumble around in a body as imposing as Ichika’s own was undeniably something.
Nino shot her a withering look, cheeks flushed. “Do I look okay?!” she huffed, planting her hands on her hips in annoyance. The motion made her newly bulging triceps flare, which only flustered Nino more when she noticed. Her once perfectly tailored dress was now a sleeveless crop-top (the sleeves had given up entirely during the last growth spurt and lay in tatters on the floor). “She turned me into… into a…” Nino’s words failed as she glanced at a mirror on the wall, finally catching sight of her reflection.
An amazon stared back at her. Nino’s own face framed by wild, flowing hair, atop a neck and shoulders worthy of a pro wrestler. Her posture faltered in surprise. “I’m huge…” she murmured, half to herself. She twisted side to side, inspecting the mirror. Her remaining ribbon popped off, unable to contain the thick, wavy locks any longer, but she hardly noticed. “I’m… actually huge.”
Despite her shock, there was a tiny upward twitch at the corner of Nino’s mouth, as if part of her couldn’t help but be impressed. She quickly masked it with a scowl and rounded on Akeela again. “You crazy shark! You can’t just… just splash people and turn them into muscle freaks!”
Akeela crossed her arms and tapped her foot, splashing in the puddle beneath her. She looked half proud, half defensive. “Correction. Strong girls for smart guys. You’re welcome,” she said matter-of-factly. Then she muttered under her breath, “And I wouldn’t have to if you all came in clearly labeled packages…”
Fuutarou, who had been as silent and still as a statue during Nino’s transformation, finally exhaled the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Now there were two of them… two gigantic, muscle-bound versions of the Nakano sisters taking up an alarming amount of space in the living room. The study table creaked loudly as Ichika leaned on it, and the floorboards themselves seemed to protest every time Nino shifted her weight.
He adjusted his stance awkwardly, realizing he’d been subconsciously inching backward until he was pressed against the wall. His brain desperately tried to reboot. “This… this is impossible,” he mumbled. “There must be a scientific explanation for this… surely…” He looked around, half expecting the walls to melt or something. But no, the world remained stubbornly real.
Akeela dusted off her gloves, flicking away a soggy flashcard. “Impossible is kind of my specialty,” she chimed, overhearing Fuutarou. Then, shooting him a bright grin, “And congratulations, by the way! You’re now the smart guy with not one, but two strong girls! Nagisa-sama will be thrilled by the bonus.”
Fuutarou’s face went from pale to scarlet at the insinuation. “H-hold on! I didn’t ask for any—!”
Before that thought could finish, fate decided the situation wasn’t chaotic enough. From just outside the living room came a trio of new voices and footsteps approaching fast.
“Ichika? Nino? What was that yell about!” called a worried voice… Itsuki, the fifth sister, if Akeela recalled from her brief reading.
Another voice, soft and anxious: “Is everything okay?!”, which had to have been Miku.
And a third, energetic and concerned: “We came as soon as— WHOA.” That would be Yotsuba, abruptly cut off as the three remaining Nakano sisters piled into the doorway and collectively froze.
Silence. Five identical pairs of eyes (well, almost identical. Same colors, different expressions and unmistakably the same sisters) all flickered between Akeela and the two newly transformed amazons standing in the center of the room.
Miku, the quiet one, peered from behind Yotsuba and Itsuki. Her headphones hung around her neck, and her mouth was slightly open in a mute oh of shock as she took in Ichika and Nino’s dramatically altered physiques.
Yotsuba, easily the most cheerful and energetic of the bunch, practically vibrated in place, her green ribbon bobbing in her hair. “This is… different!” she exclaimed, eyes shining with what looked alarmingly like excitement rather than fear. Trust Yotsuba to see something positive in even the weirdest scenario.
Itsuki, the youngest, adjusted her glasses (she must’ve grabbed them in a hurry as they were sitting slightly askew on her nose). “Ichika? Nino?! What happened to you??” she gasped, stepping forward. Her gaze then snapped to Akeela, voice turning sharp. “And who on earth are—”
Akeela didn’t hear the rest. She was too busy short-circuiting at the sight of three more identical girls flooding into the room.
Her brain stalled out entirely as she looked from one new sister to another, then at Ichika and Nino, then back. One, two, three… four… five.
Five.
Five identical faces (give or take different hairstyles and accessories), all staring at her.
Akeela’s left eye twitched. She felt a bead of sweat roll down her temple. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a little voice shrieked: Quintuplets! Quintuplets means FIVE, you dummy!
“H-How… why… what?!” she spluttered aloud. “There’s FIVE of the same girl?!”
Yotsuba helpfully raised a hand. “Oh! We’re quintuplets. Surprise!” she said with a nervous laugh, as if this were some benign prank.
Akeela’s eye twitched again. She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again like a fish out of water. “Quin… tup… lets…” she repeated weakly. Clearly, that detail hadn’t fully processed in her earlier zeal.
This world was cheating. Instead of one strong-girl candidate, it had given her five nearly identical sisters. She had only meant to transform one… maybe two, but now three more carbon copies stood before her, untransformed and thoroughly confused.
And worst of all, Akeela now still wasn’t sure which of them was actually dating Fuutarou. It could be any of them! IT COULD BE ALL OF THEM!!!
This was a disaster. This was… a challenge. Yes, perhaps a final cosmic test of her resolve!
Akeela’s face slowly transformed from shock into a kind of crazed determination. Her shark-like grin returned with a vengeance. “So… That’s how it’s gonna be, huh?” she muttered under her breath, throwing a side-eye to the ceiling as if the universe itself was mocking her.
Ichika stepped forward carefully, raising her hands in a calming gesture (it was almost comical, given she now loomed over everyone). “Girls, just be careful, we’ve got a bit of a sit—”
But Akeela had already hopped back onto the now-cracked coffee table, striking a dramatic pose with one foot on a toppled stack of textbooks. She pointed at the incoming trio with an accusatory finger. “Alright! Fine!” she shouted, clearly addressing fate itself as much as the sisters. “If this universe wants to throw FIVE identical sisters at me…” her voice rose to a fever pitch, “...then I, Akeela, will make it my sworn mission to transform EVERY SINGLE ONE of them! I will have the mistress’ perfect couple, no matter how often you girls multiply!!!”
—
A short while later, in another dimension entirely, Nagisa’s private office was quiet and calm. That is, until the door creaked open and the dark goddess herself stepped in, heels clicking on polished obsidian floors.
Nagisa let out a tired sigh. It had been a long day of reality-warping and paperwork (even godly domains had paperwork, unfortunately). She was looking forward to a nice cup of tea and perhaps a good book.
As Nagisa crossed to her ornate ebony desk, she noticed something unusual. Her crystal monitor (a magical equivalent of a computer) was already on. In fact, an unfamiliar window was open, casting colorful moving light across the otherwise dark room. She certainly didn’t recall leaving anything running…
Nagisa arched a slender eyebrow and leaned over the desk to get a better look. On the screen was a live feed labeled: “Muscle Girl & Smart Guy Cam.”
Nagisa’s other eyebrow joined the first. Muscle Girl and Smart Guy…? She had a sinking suspicion she knew who this was about… and also who was responsible for it.
Curious (and already bracing herself), Nagisa settled into her high-backed chair and watched the feed. The screen showed a domestic living room in disarray. Nagisa instantly recognized the five young women in the scene, even if they were each now roughly the size of a small ogre. The Nakano quintuplets, if she recalled correctly, one of her more popular realms she watches over… albeit with some significant changes.
On the monitor, the scene played out like a surreal sitcom.
The camera (wherever it was placed) panned over the Nakano sisters’ living area. It appeared Akeela’s mission had concluded not long ago, and the dust was beginning to settle, figuratively and literally, as one of the ceiling lights was swinging slightly, sprinkling plaster dust onto the tallest sister’s hair.
The furniture built for normal humans was struggling to survive the presence of five muscle-bound giants. In one corner of the feed, Miku was attempting to sit on the couch. The poor piece of furniture creaked ominously under her weight before one leg gave a sad crack. Miku yelped and stood back up as the couch listed to one side, mortified. She threw her hands up in frustration, then tossed an apologetic glare at Fuutarou (who was scribbling notes at the dining table, presumably calculating something like structural support needs).
Nagisa bit back a laugh as the couch collapse caused a chain reaction: Itsuki had been leaning on that same couch, and when it tilted, she stumbled sideways. One of her newly enlarged arms shot out to grab the nearest support, which happened to be the doorway frame to the kitchen. CRACK. The wood of the doorframe splintered under her inadvertent grip strength. Itsuki gasped and stepped back, looking horrified at the fist-shaped hole she’d left in the molding.
Over in the kitchen area, chaos continued. Despite literally bursting out of her clothes an hour ago, Nino had insisted on attempting to fix dinner (“Muscles or not, we still have to eat!” she’d declared). Nagisa could see Nino now, hunched awkwardly in front of the stove, stirring a pot of miso soup that looked comically tiny in her large hands. Nino had to kneel on the floor to properly see what she was doing, given the counter was now practically at her shins.
Even so, her broad shoulders barely fit between the countertop and the cabinets behind her. She grumbled under her breath about “stupid tiny kitchenware” as she delicately pinched a single tofu cube between her fingers and dropped it into the pot. Despite her frustration, the faintest hint of a smile ghosted over her face. She did still enjoy cooking, even if the utensils now felt like dollhouse items. It more so looked like she saw it as fun little slightly frustrating at times challenge.
At the dining table, Ichika, Itsuki, and Fuutarou were gathered, seemingly engaged in conversation. Or rather, Ichika and Itsuki were discussing, while Fuutarou sat in the middle looking equal parts exhausted and overwhelmed. The table itself was far too low for the newly enlarged sisters; Ichika’s long legs were stretched out under it, likely unable to fit beneath, and Itsuki had given up on chairs altogether and was kneeling on the floor, resting her elbows on the table.
Nagisa could just make out their voices through the feed’s faint audio.
“I’m just saying, maybe this isn’t all bad,” Ichika mused, flexing one arm casually (and smugly) as she spoke. The motion made the poor table jitter, one of Fuutarou’s pencils rolled off and he caught it mid-air. “I mean, we won’t need the ladder to clean the top shelf anymore. That’s a plus.”
Miku, blushing as always, shyly added, “A-And… we can protect each other. And Fuutarou.” She fiddled with the tiny remnants of what had been her headphone set, now it looked like a toy dangling around her thick neck. “N-not that we need to fight anyone… but if we did…”
Fuutarou managed a weak chuckle, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Let’s just focus on not breaking the apartment, please. I’m still calculating how we’re going to afford all the new clothes and furniture…” Indeed, in front of him was a notepad with scribbles. “Reinforced beds? Steel chairs? And all the food costs…” followed by increasingly agitated math equations.
Ichika leaned over and ruffled Fuutarou’s hair teasingly with her massive hand, nearly knocking his head onto the table. “Aww, don’t stress, Tutor-kun. We’ll figure it out. Maybe we can start a superhero for-hire business,” she joked with a wink.
“Not to mention that money usually isn’t the biggest issue for us.” Itsuki sighed while turning to look out the window, only for Miku to slienty add. “...what I am worried about is if all of us have to eat as much as Itsuki now. And if that is the case, how much Itsuki needs to…”
“HEY!” Itsuki smacked the table in frustration, which made it make a uncomfortable sound, causing Itsuki to panic instantly, quickly checking if she hadn’t ruined it by accident. Then she softly spoke under her breath. “A girls gotta eat…”
Nagisa snorted softly at that. A quintet of muscle-bound sisters for hire… honestly, it had entertainment value.
Meanwhile, Yotsuba was nowhere to be seen on screen, until Nagisa spotted movement in the background. Oh. There she was, doing chin-ups on the doorframe of the hallway entrance, of course. Yotsuba’s head bobbed into view, then vanished, then reappeared in a steady rhythm.
She’d found one doorframe that hadn’t broken (yet) and decided it was perfect for an impromptu workout. “Sixty… Sixty-one… Sixty-two…!” she counted between pulls, a broad grin on her face. Her cheerful voice rang out, “This is waaaay easier now! I could do these all night!”
“Please don’t do them all night,” Fuutarou called from the table, pinching the bridge of his nose again. “And that doorframe is definitely going to give way if you keep—”
CRACK. Right on cue, the top of the frame gave a loud creak. Yotsuba dropped down (a bit reluctantly) and pouted at the dent her fingers had made in the wood. “Oops… Sorry!” she sang, not looking terribly sorry. She energetically bounded over to join the others, her footfalls thudding like distant drums through the feed’s audio.
Nagisa sat back, a hand lightly over her mouth to hide the smile threatening to break into a full laugh. The scene was absolute domestic chaos, a once ordinary household now turned into a circus of amazonian girls inadvertently demolishing their surroundings by sheer size alone, while a poor overachieving boy tried to maintain some semblance of order.
It was, in a word, hilarious.
And yet… also oddly heartwarming. The sisters were adapting in their own ways, and Fuutarou, trooper that he was, hadn’t run off screaming. If anything, he was doing what he always did. Calmly trying to figure out solutions (even if his eye twitched whenever something else broke).
Nagisa found herself… pleased. It was ridiculous, yes, but also endearing. This was her favourite kind of romance to watch, and even if it was artificially achieved, she still found herself almost unable to look away from them.
As if on cue, the office door behind Nagisa swung open without a knock. Only one person would barge in unannounced like that. Nagisa swiveled her chair, already schooling her face into a stern expression (she had to at least pretend to be cross, after all).
Akeela stood in the doorway, dripping wet and… good heavens.
Nagisa’s cool composure nearly cracked as she took in the sight of her maid. Akeela was buff. Noticeably, enormously buff. The half-shark girl’s usually well-fitted maid uniform was now stretched to its limits across bulging muscles that hadn’t been there a few hours ago. Her coat’s sleeves had torn off entirely at the shoulders, revealing deltoids that would make a heavyweight champ jealous. The skirt was the same short length as always but looked shorter on her, given the newly thick thighs it had to cover. Akeela’s cheeks were pink, whether from exertion or embarrassment or some mix of both.
She stepped inside, trying (and failing) to appear nonchalant as she carried herself with that exaggerated maidly grace. But it’s hard to sneak in quietly when each footfall makes a dull thump on the floor and your broader shoulders barely squeeze through the doorframe.
Nagisa raised one elegant eyebrow, the corner of her lips curving in an involuntary smirk. “Enjoy yourself out there?” she asked dryly.
Akeela stopped a few paces from the desk and gave a very sheepish salute, her finned tail swishing in what looked like embarrassment. “Nagisa-sama! You’re back!” she squeaked, then cleared her throat and tried to deepen her voice in a more dignified manner. “I—I have returned from the mission.”
Nagisa’s violet eyes swept obviously over Akeela’s new physique. “So I see,” she said, biting back laughter. “I take it things got a bit… out of hand?”
Akeela’s face went red up to the tips of her ears. She rubbed the back of her neck, where her coat’s collar was flipped up, likely because it no longer properly fit around her trapezius muscles. “J-just a tiny mishap,” she mumbled. “Minor collateral growth. Nothing I can’t handle.”
Nagisa’s eyebrow somehow arched higher. Akeela shifted her weight, causing the floor beneath her to creak. The maid coughed and dropped her gaze, finally conceding with a tiny voice: “I… I think I overdid it.”
Nagisa finally let the laugh escape. She chuckled, low and warm, shaking her head. “You think?” she replied with playful sarcasm, eyes shining with mirth. Despite her words, there was no real anger in her tone. If anything, Nagisa looked amused and perhaps even… proud in an exasperated sort of way.
Akeela, encouraged by the laughter, perked up. In a burst of enthusiasm (and lingering adrenaline), she struck a pose, flexing one arm mightily and planting her other hand on her hip. Her bicep rose like a small mountain, and the seams of her poor maid outfit made a faint ripping noise again. “BUT!” she declared loudly, grinning with all her sharky teeth, “Mission accomplished, Nagisa-sama! Exactly as ordered!”
Nagisa stood from her chair, crossing the distance between them. Even at her full height, the goddess now had to tilt her chin up slightly to meet Akeela’s eyes, something that secretly delighted Akeela to no end. Nagisa looked her over once more, taking in the absolute ridiculousness of it all, and just shook her head with a soft laugh.
She placed a hand gently on Akeela’s well-muscled arm (it didn’t even sink in when she gave an affectionate squeeze — goodness, the girl was like living marble now). “Yes, my dear maid. You certainly did accomplish something,” Nagisa said fondly. “Even if I don’t recall ever giving you that order…”
Akeela’s chest swelled with pride (figuratively, thank goodness, there was no more give left in that uniform). She beamed, tail swishing so hard it knocked over a small wastebasket.
Nagisa glanced at the monitor one last time, where the chaotic-yet-charming scene of the Nakano household continued. The five sisters were now carefully cramming themselves around a much-abused dining table to eat dinner with Fuutarou, chatting loudly, soup bowls comically small in their hands. Fuutarou, while visibly overwhelmed, was smiling just a little at one of Ichika’s jokes. The home looked a wreck, and yet it also looked… happy.
Maybe she would give them a little bit of assistance sometime soon. At least a good few pairs of fitting clothes. Yeah, someday in the future, she really should do that. But for now…
With a snap of her fingers, Nagisa closed the feed. Enough spying, she’d seen all she needed to. She turned back to her overzealous, oversized maid.
“Strong girls and smart guys, hm?” Nagisa mused, pretending to consider the concept gravely. “I am glad you agree that it’s not a terrible combination.”
Akeela’s eyes sparkled. “Right?! Exactly! I knew you’d like it!” In her excitement, she flexed both arms in a victory pose above her head. Nagisa ducked to avoid a rogue elbow. More stitches gave way in Akeela’s sleeves with a rip, fluttering to the floor in surrender.
Nagisa couldn’t hold back any longer. She burst into genuine laughter, her melodic voice echoing in the office. Akeela, realizing she’d nearly clobbered her mistress with that exuberant pose, blushed and started apologizing profusely, but Nagisa waved it off, still laughing.
“You are incorrigible, Akeela,” Nagisa said between chuckles. She placed a hand on Akeela’s broad shoulder (or as far over it as she could reach) and guided her toward the door. “Come on, you walking catastrophe. Let’s make you a new uniform before you burst completely out of this one.”
Akeela grinned ear to ear and allowed herself to be led, albeit carefully (the doorway was a tight squeeze now). As they exited, she couldn’t resist flexing one more time, a bit more gently, and proclaiming under her breath: “Five-for-one special mission, complete!”
Nagisa just rolled her eyes affectionately. There would be time to gently reprimand and properly debrief her reckless maid later. For now, it was enough to relish the absurd victory.
After all, when there was an issue for Nagisa, even a ludicrous, niche, romantic preference sort of issue, one could always count on Akeela to save the day… in the most questionable way possible.