Giant Sakuta Azusagawa

The universe had always seemed impossibly large to Sakuta Azusagawa.

But this time, it started with a few centimeters.

One morning, his uniform felt tighter.

"Must've shrunk in the wash." — he thought.

Mai stared at him.

"You're taller."

The next morning, he was taller again.

His shoes became uncomfortable, furniture seemed too small, things became lighter and door frames required him to duck.

Over the following days, his growth continued. Slowly. Predictably. Unstoppably.

Soon Mai had to tilt her head way up to look at him.

Eventually, he was far too large to pass for an ordinary student.

Sakuta looked down at her.

"...This is getting inconvenient."

"Sakuta, you're literally experiencing an unexplained supernatural transformation!"

"Priorities."

---

Days became weeks. Sakuta grew from tall to enormous. Buildings became smaller beneath him. Cars became tiny.

Yet he remained calm, still teasing Mai.

Then he discovered something unsettling.

The growth wasn't entirely beyond his control.

He could feel a strange pressure beneath his skin, as though his body were waiting for him to choose whether to continue.

When he concentrated on growing, the phenomenon responded.

His current size might not be his limit.

---

The phenomenon accelerated.

The city disappeared beneath his scale. Then the countryside. Clouds drifted around him, and the curvature of Earth became visible.

Eventually, Sakuta found himself beyond the atmosphere.

Stars stretched endlessly around him.

He looked down.

Earth was there.

Blue. Beautiful. Familiar.

And unbelievably small.

"...I've come a long way."

From Earth's perspective, something impossible had appeared in the heavens. His body had grown beyond anything human — both in size and muscles. His silhouette dwarfing the planet below.

The growth wasn't finished.

If he wanted to, he could become even larger.

Much larger.

It was fascinating and slightly terrifying.

He looked toward Earth, where Mai was waiting. His impossibly tiny girlfriend.

Sakuta sighed.

"Mai..."

His voice rolled through space.

Then he immediately stopped himself.

"...Right. I probably shouldn't yell."

He lowered his voice as much as he could.

"Mai? Are you there?"

---

On Earth, Mai Sakurajima looked up.

The familiar blue sky was no longer familiar.

Above the atmosphere was something so enormous that her mind struggled to process it.

Her boyfriend.

Sakuta.

Except Sakuta was no longer merely taller than her.

He was impossibly, absurdly gigantic.

The sight left Mai completely speechless.

For once, the normally composed actress had absolutely no clever response ready.

Sakuta noticed the tiny world beneath him.

"Can't even see you from up here."

There was a pause.

"...Actually, that's probably the worst possible thing I could say right now."

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I didn't do this on purpose."

Another pause.

"And before you ask, no, I don't know why this happened."

He looked down at the little blue planet again.

"But... it's not so bad, huh?"

For a moment, the enormous figure floating among the stars looked almost lonely.

Despite his impossible size, Sakuta was still Sakuta.

Still the same boy who had once walked beside Mai through the streets of Fujisawa.

Still the same boyfriend who would rather make a stupid joke than admit how worried he was.

Except now, the distance between them was measured in worlds.

Sakuta gave her a faint, familiar smile.

"...So."

He folded his arms behind his head and looked toward Earth.

"Any chance you're going to tell me what happened while I was asleep?"

His eyes narrowed playfully.

"Or are you just going to stand there staring at your ridiculously oversized boyfriend?"

He paused.

"...Actually, knowing you, you'll probably yell at me first."

The faintest grin appeared on his face.

"Go ahead, Mai."

"Tell me how completely unfair this is."