It was a bright sunny morning that belied the predicament the world was in. The Queen of Hell had changed reality to suit her revenge on the powers that be and her accomplices each ruled a part of the world. Their hopelessness faded as Faith left instructions on how to carry on without her. At that moment, Hikari was busy trying to contact the Ministry of National Heritage, the epicenter of power for the koonago in the Japanese government. However, no calls were getting through no matter what number she dialed. "I have to go to the village" she said flatly. "That's not a good idea. If nobody is picking up, then they're obviously compromised. If they're compromised then no doubt they've attacked your village" Alicia said. "Which is why I must go. I am their princess. It is my duty to go" Hikari said sternly. "Alright. Give me a few minutes to get ready and then we can all..."

"No boss. With Faith gone, we need you on the sidelines for now. No sense in putting all our eggs in a basket" Skylar said. "If something had befallen our brethren, I shall accompany the princess" Hana said. "No for the same reasons Skylar gave. If something troubling has befallen our kind, you must be kept safe to preserve out interests. I am sorry Hana" Hikari said. Hana got on her knees before the tiny princess. "Then I bid you safe travels" she said softly. Skylar plucked her from the floor. "I'll watch out for her. Just have that sashimi you said you make ready for our return" she grinned. "As you wish" Hana said softly. Skylar could fell the girl trembling in her hand. Skylar gave her a gentle kiss before placing her back on the floor. "I'll be going too Hana so don't worry" Selah said tying her shoes. "No. You're not well" Alicia said. "They need me. They can't translocate" she said. "...and you can?" Alicia asked surprised. "I've been doing more than just sitting on my ass reading that book. I've been there already so I know how to get in. While we're gone, why don't you check on that Joseph guy?" Selah asked. "I believe I will. If trouble pops up, get out. No reckless bullshit" Alicia wagged her finger. Selah nodded.

15 minutes later, Selah had opened a translocation portal astounding Alicia. "She really did do it. How much stronger did she get?" she wondered. Selah, Skylar, and Hikari stepped through. When they emerged, Hikari's fears were confirmed. "By the Kami..." she muttered sitting on Skylar's shoulder. The village had been utterly destroyed. Hikari leaped off her shoulder to look at the damage from the ground. Skylar and Selah shrunk down to join her. "The school, the nursery, the markets..." Hikari muttered seeing each one pulverized in massive footprints. The ground itself was either crushed flatter than normal (except for depressions of footprints) or overgrown by grass as the forest itself tried to swallow up the carnage. The main house barely stood. Its front gates demolished as well as the adjacent storerooms and servants' quarters. Hikari took off her sandals as per custom but it seemed pointless with the dust and dirt in the building and the broken roof. Skylar and Selah took off their shoes to honor her customs. The tatami mats seemed to buckle under their socks and bare feet. No doubt rotted from rain.

The armory was bare indicating anyone who could hold a weapon had grabbed one. The kitchen had been wrecked with dishes broken and thrown about. Hikari made her way to the throne room. There sat a lone skeleton wearing a pink and white kimono. "No, Yume" she muttered. "Someone you know?" Skylar asked. "My most loyal retainer. She took care of..." Hikari muttered before she dashed out of the room. Skylar and Selah could hear her weep down the hallway. They followed the sound to a large room. Hikari stood there draped over her son's crib. Skylar and Selah were hesitant to look but did. Nothing. "As long as there isn't a body" Skylar said. It gave little comfort to the woman. Hikari returned to the throne room. "She wouldn't abandon my son. Why would she sit on the throne?" Hikari asked herself. "Is there any significance to it other than the symbolism?" Selah asked. "The throne is the seat of power for our nation. It acts like an amplifier for our abilities.  Only me and my mother may sit on it without being overwhelmed by its power. The barrier that protected us came from here" Hikari replied. "Then maybe she sat here for that reason" she said. "No, the barrier serves to persuade humans not to enter. If this happened, it had already failed. Akari, why would you risk your life to sit on the throne? For what exact purpose?" Hikari muttered touching her skull. Just then a ball of blue fire emanated from her skeletal corpse. "Whoa! What the hell is that?!" Skylar asked. "A hitodama. A spirit flame. An echo of Akari's soul" Hikari said catching it in her hands. She gasped as the sprit showed her a horrible truth to her questions.

The very ground shook and was only deafened by the screams of women and children. She had run outside so fast she had no time to put her geta sandals on. There she saw a massive boot crush someone's home. She looked up and saw a human, a young man dressed in camo. The guard immediately attacked killing him as ice skewered his eyes and tiny koonago slashed his throat open with naginata's. He fell hard but was soon replaced with another and another. She ran back inside racing to the princess' bedchamber to find the prince, Yuusha, crying. "Give him to me!" Akari yelled. The ground shook again. Akari ran with the baby prince in her arms, a female servant close behind her. Akari ended up outside behind the koonago imperial mansion hoping the flee deeper into the forest with the others. No such luck. A soldier blocked their path. He reached down for them and was attacked by the servant with weak water magics that blinded his left eye. Enraged, he plucked her up from the ground so fast her sandals fell off.

"SAVE THE PRINCE!" she screamed as the giant squeezed her till she shrieked as her ribs shattered. Akari pissed herself seeing someone she had known for years, someone who had bathed with her every night eaten alive. She heard every crunch of bone, every shriek, every squelch of flesh as he chewed and finally swallowed. Akari stood there frozen as he reached for her. A barrier stopped his hand. "Inside child" Empress Himeko ordered in her mind. Akari stumbled back to the throne room and found Himeko sitting on the throne exhausted and badly wounded. "There are a hundred more out there. They're exterminating the men and rounding up the women and children. The humans turned on us!" Himeko cried out. "But the princess has made great friends with them! Surely this is no official sanction!" Akari said. "They are JSDF. It is sanctioned. I know not where my daughter is so I must think the worst. The prince must be protected. I shall open a portal to the ancestral lands. Lead the survivors..."

Himeko did not finish her sentence. She slumped right off the throne. Akari's shook her and found that she had died. The empress was dead. With her death, the physical barrier protecting the mansion was failing. Akari ran to the courtyard and found barely two dozen had been saved when it went up. "Take the prince. Go through the portal to the ancestral lands when it appears" Akari said handing the baby to a young woman she did not even know. Akari returned to the throne room and looked upon the throne. Akari sat down keeping full well the consequences of doing so. The ancient enchantments on the old straw, wooden, and carved rock throne took ahold of her body. Akari nearly screamed as her own power amplified a hundred times searing her nerves. She reached out with her hand and summoned water from the ground. It formed into a flat plane in the air. At first a mirror and then a portal. Blood ran from her nose as a low born girl had summoned high tier water magics. Something normally impossible. She felt them run through the portal and struggled to keep it open long enough for them to escape. A searing pain tore through her skull and she smelled something odd. She sensed the rest had escaped which was a relief but now something was horribly wrong. Her entire left side was paralyzed. The barrier had fallen exposing her.

Akari slumped to the left unable to move, speak, or even wriggle her toes. The paralysis had spread within seconds all over her body. A giant finger crashed through the roof. A giant eye looked in. Akari could see it focus on her. She prepared herself for death. "Just a dead one. The others fled through some magic" a male voice said. "We have enough for her majesty" another voice said. Giant pairs of feet moved on leaving her where she was. Akari sat there unmoving for hours and then days. Her vision weak. Her mouth dry, lips cracked. She was dying from thirst and could do nothing about it. She prayed that when death did take her, it would be kind. She doing even notice when it happened. She could move once more and when she did, she looked back to find her body had not. She had passed. A lone figure stood outside. Giant bare feet in ancient geta sandals belonged to a young woman dressed in a blackest black kimono. She held a black flame katana. Akari knew she was a Shinigami. A harbinger of death. "Please. Please don't take me. I must await my princess. She must know what happened here" Akari pleaded. The giantess knelt down.

"She may never come" the Shinigami said. "Then I shall wait for eternity until a koonago does" Akari said. The Shinigami stood up and looked around. She had taken many souls there today. Men, women, children. She was bound not to show bias but even she was appalled by such a vicious attack. "I shall take your soul another time. Be warned koonago. Your decision may yet cause far more harm than good to your people" she said. "I was the last one here. I fought the best way I could and saved who I could. I cannot go to paradise wondering if any good may come of this bloodshed. At least this way there is a chance to right this" she said softly. The Shinigami nodded and placed her katana back into its scabbard. "Very well" she simply said walking away. Even though a giantess, her feet made no tremors, no sound, not even footprints. She vanished into the shadows. Hikari opened her eyes and let the spirit flame go wherever it could find final peace.

"She sacrificed herself to get the survivors to the ancestral homeland. The power gave her a massive stroke and she died of thirst trapped within her own body. A Shinigami came for her and she bargained to keep her soul here hoping I would find it" Hikari muttered. "Who did this?" Skylar asked. Hikari spun around and glared right at her making Skylar back away from her. "Humans. Humans did this!" Hikari hissed crying. Selah touched her shoulder and Hikari slapped her hand away accidentally striking Selah in the mouth. Selah yelped in pain nursing a bleeding lip. Hikari looked horrified realizing she hurt a friend through her rage. "Deepest apologizes. I..." Hikari said falling to her knees. The princess sobbed into her hands. Skylar and Selah sat beside her. "I know how it feels. People you loved; places you've been. Taken from you. And the worse part of it all, you survived it. I lost everything when Ambrosio destroyed my life. You felt like you did something wrong when you survived. Like you cheated by not sharing their fate" Selah said looking down at her bare feet. Hikari stopped crying and looked at her.

"Yes. That's how it feels" she muttered. "You can't think that way. You were spared for a reason. A reason none of us may know now but together we can find out" Selah said. Hikari leaned in and touched her cut lip with her finger healing it. "...you have brought me honor. I am... humbled" she dais softly. Selah kissed her. "Family is there for one another. That's how it works" Selah said smiling. Hikari nodded and hugged her tightly. "Come one Sky. Group hug!" Selah giggled. Skylar sighed and hugged them. "I must honor her sacrifice starting with a proper funeral" Hikari said standing. "We'll help. Just tell us what to do" Skylar said. Hikari gently took Akari's skeleton off the throne and with the help of the other two, carried it outside. They placed it on a pyre and lit it. Skylar was surprised that was all Hikari wanted. A few tiny twigs on fire to burn a three-inch skeleton. She expected more. "Normally there would be a priest, incense, a picture. This is all I can do" Hikari said as if reading Skylar's thoughts. "It's the thought that counts" Selah said. "Indeed. The fire will purify her and then we shall gather her ashes and bone into an urn for burial" she said.

They did and stood silent as the princess sifted through the ash and bone. Skylar worried about her as she could only imagine the grief of being coated with the ashes of someone you cared about. Hikari placed her remains in the only receptacle not broken in the conflict. A gourd to hold sake. Hikari carried it to the cemetery not far away which was mercifully spared from the attack. She dug a hole at the foot of a memorial caved from mountain rock taken from Fuji, and placed the gourd in. Hikari clapped twice and prayed. Then Hikari shocked them by cutting her wrist open. "Hikari!" Skylar yelled. Hikari motioned for her not to move. "I shed this blood because I was not here to do so earlier. I vow that those responsible will not go unpunished" she said with an eerie soft tone. Hikari healed herself and stood there for a moment. "You said humans did this" Selah said. "Soldiers from the Japanese Self Defense Force. They only act under the orders of the government" she replied. "I think we should find out why" Skylar said. "I agree but first I want to see to the survivors. Come with me and wear your shoes this time" Hikari said. Hikari led them back to the throne room and sat down on the throne. "Will you be okay?" Selah asked worried. "I will be just fine" she replied.

Hikari closed her eyes. The ground shook slightly as her hair began to stand on end. Magic radiated off her body. "No wonder that poor girl had a stroke. I thought only Faith could put out that much magic energy" Skylar said. A glob of water floated into the room and formed a portal. "Step through" she commanded. Selah and Skylar did and Hikari got up off the throne. She took one last look at it solemnly before entering the portal. The air was slightly crisp as they stood dwarfed by the wild grass. "This is your ancestral homeland?" Skylar asked. "Long ago we were a scattered people until my mother united us under one banner. We settled here not far from Kyoto. Back then it didn't even exist yet. It went until the end of the Warring States period we moved to the base of Fujiyama. This way please" Hikari said. They followed her until she stopped. It appeared nothing was there until she walked and seemingly disappeared. Skylar and Selah followed and found themselves in an ancient village with small warm streams cutting through it. It was not as large as the one they had come from. It felt deserted. "We are in the right place right?" Skylar asked. "Show yourselves!" Hikari yelled.

Slowly, koonago emerged from their homes. They ran to meet their princess but stopped rad in their tracks seeing Skylar and Selah. They screamed in terror and fled. "Calm yourselves! These humans are under the banner of our clan!" Hikari yelled. They paused. "Can you truly blame them princess after what they witnessed?" a voice said. A young man emerged from an alley with his hand on the handle of his katana. "Ichiro. I'm pleased you survived" she said. "As captain of the royal guard, I shouldn't have" he said softly approaching. "You did your duty. You helped evacuate the survivors here" she said. He looked at Selah and Skylar. "We should talk alone" he said. "What you have to say can be said in their company" Hikari said. "Not them I'm concerned with. It is the others" he said looking at the koonago whispering. Ichiro led them to the main house. He was slightly impressed that Skylar and Selah took their shoes off before entering. "At least your humans have manners" he quipped. "My humans are loyal without fault. Especially this one" Hikari said pointing to Skylar. They sat down in the meeting room and he placed his katana on the floor mat.

"How long have you all been here? How many made it through?" Hikari asked. "Six months and 32 made it through. 29 still live" he said coldly. "I saw a death vision that the JSDF was responsible. Can you confirm this?" Hikari asked. "I can. All soldiers. They somehow penetrated our barrier even after we strengthened it after Izanami's rise" he replied. All three looked at one another. "Now how about you answer one of my questions. Where the hell have you been?!" he yelled. "Hey! She's your princess!" Selah yelled. "You stay out of this gaijin!" he spat. "Ichiro. A malevolent force has somehow rewritten reality as we know it. We were spared the effects. I'm assuming this is why it seemed I disappeared. From my perspective, I just saw you two weeks ago" Hikari said calmly. "For me it was 10 months" he said quietly. "You mentioned the Queen of Death. What do you mean she has risen?" she asked. "On New Year's Day, we were watching it happen live on tv. The people were praying at the shrines as usual and then she appeared utterly gigantic over Tokyo. Her shadow darkened the city and the people just...froze where they stood. They turned around and began praying to her. It was...unsettling" he replied.

"What else? What led to humans attacking us? Where is my mother?!" Hikari shouted. In the weeks that followed, word reached us of three other goddesses that emerged at the same time. However, Izanami declared Japan as her sovereign land and was to not be touched by a foreign influence. By February, the Order of Shi gained notice when they forcibly dissolved the National diet and subsequently exterminated the imperial family. They crushed them under their feet literally. Those that join the Order are taught onmyoji shrinking magics. Soon, hundreds of thousands of females joined their order and began persecuting males. Teachers shrinking and eating or crushing delinquent students. Female police officers executing males for the smallest crimes. And... the males just accept it. Hikari, it seemed every Japanese human had gone totally insane! We broke ties with them fearing their madness turned on us" he said.

"...and my mother?" Hikari asked. "Captured along with most of our females. When they attacked us, our best defended us as much as they could but for every human we killed, two more took their place. We lost our warriors to their numbers and they began snatching up females and putting them in cages. Some young males too but mostly the females. Older men were...eliminated. As for your mother, she was one of the captured" he replied. "Where did they take them?" she asked coldly.

"A scout reported seeing a koonago at RIKEN before we lost contact with her" he replied. "What's RIKEN?" Skylar asked. "A think tank for lack of a better term. Various scientific studies have been done there since 1917" Hikari replied. "When do we go?" Selah asked. Hikari looked at her. "I will lead the charge. I must prepare myself" she said excusing herself. "She took it better than I thought she would. Does she not understand what I have told her?" Ichiro asked. "She understands. She's holding it in" Skylar said. "She does do that. How well do you know her?" he asked. "Barely a few weeks. I know her kind though. She takes her anger and pain and makes it work for you. It's a fine line. It can make you stronger or it can make you reckless" Skylar replied. Ichiro stood up. "An attendant will see to your needs. If you will excuse me" he said before leaving.

Ichiro made his way to the imperial dojo where he suspected Hikari was. Sure enough she was practicing with her naginata. He watched silently as she twirled, thruster, and pivoted. "You've gotten better but you drag your right foot" he said. "I wish to be alone" she said softly. "Too bad" he said picking up a wooden sword. He placed his real one on the floor. He quickly attacked her. Minutes passed as they quickly sparred. Ichiro stayed every so calm while Hikari grew more agitated by the second. With a shout, she shattered his sword, and her momentum made her crash into him. Ichiro flipped her onto her back. "I win" he said. She struggled against him. Her eyes full of tears. "She was right about you. The human said you were bottling up your pain. It did not do you any favors here so why expect it will out there?" he asked. He looked down and noticed her left breast looking out the cut of her kimono. His hand went to it...and closed her kimono. "I was too harsh" he muttered.

"You said what they needed to hear" she said sitting up sniffling. "Even so, they are ignorant of the pressure that comes with the throne. You are not even allowed to choose your husband" he said. "If I could, I would've chosen...it does not matter now" she huffed. "It may very well matter now. There is no telling if those taken are alive or dead now. Our numbers have dwindled severely. To survive, we have to forgo some of the old ways" he said. She was silent. "What you were saying about who you would've chosen. Who? The borrower man in England?" he asked. "Keith is a splendid mate who have me an exceptional son. My son..." she muttered. She bolted and he grabbed her. Ichiro led her to a bedroom where an attendant rocked her son to sleep. Hikari fell to her knees as he took her son from the attendant and dismissed her. He gave her son to her and she wept quietly to herself as she rocked him. Yuusha began to stir hearing her crying.

His eyes lit up taking in her much-missed scent and he grasped as her covered breasts. The infant began whimpering as he couldn't latch. Hikari bared her breasts and he latched onto her nipple. Yuusha whimpered more as no milk came out. "I can't even feed him" she sobbed. Ichiro got on his knees and began to suddenly gently squeeze and massage her left breast that her son was suckling on. She looked at him pitifully. "You have to relax. You're so stressed you're not lactating" he said softly. Hikari closed her eyes and bit her lip as she became aroused. Ichiro embraced herald held her close. She felt so safe in his arms. He was one of the very few in this world that she knew would never harm her. Not just the fact his family had faithfully served hers for over 1000 years, but the fact he had personally been her friend for decades. Ichiro, like many koonago was far older than he appeared. On the outside, he looked at most 21 years old but in reality, was nearly 100.

In all that time, he stayed close to her side until she relocated to Tokyo. In all that time, he loved her. He never truly acted on it as he was in a lower social caste. He was not of royal blood. Hikari gasped as her milk began to flow. The baby settled down to enjoy his mother's milk. "Thank you" she said trembling. He looked into her eyes and he wiped her tears away once more. She leaned closer into him and Ichiro suddenly stood up. "I should check on your guests and get dinner ready" he said softly before leaving her. He stood outside her room taking a deep breath. He so very wanted to kiss her it hurt and judging by the disappointment in her eyes, so did she.

Meanwhile in Georgia...

"Can we talk?" Alicia asked Joseph after he opened his door. He bid her to enter. "The reason I'm here is..." she was saying until his gesture cut her off. "I know damn well why you're here and truthfully, if I knew she would mess up this badly, I'd killed Faith myself" he said coldly. "...excuse me? Fuck did you say?" Alicia asked. "You heard me. Your fucking squabble ruined the goddamned world" he replied. "And where the fuck were you when we were fighting to keep people free of these assholes? Sitting on your ass watching Price is Right and eating TV dinners" she spat. He looked at her and cocked his head. Alicia suddenly found herself shrunk to two inches. Joseph plucked her from the floor and brought her to eye level. She could see raw magical energy flickering in his eyes. He was not amused.

"Faith upset the natural order of the world. Then she kicked the beehive. Now when she first heard of Lilith, she should've gotten more help instead of blindingly stumbling into battle. Do you have any fucking clue the damage her ego has inflicted on this world! ANY?!" he yelled. His voice rattled her tiny bones. "I've seen reports of Lilith and three other goddesses popping up all over the world" she replied. His eyes flared. "YOU IGNORANT SHIT! THEY TOOK AWAY THE FOUNDATION OF HUMAN EXISTANCE!" he yelled squeezing her. Alicia yelped in pain as her bones creaked. "...killing you would solve absolutely nothing" he sighed walking to his living room and tossing her. She unshrunk in midair landing normal sized on his sofa. He sat in his love seat and went back to drinking the beer he was enjoying before being interrupted.

"Lilith rewrote reality and the changes start at January 1, 2019" he muttered. "That's impossible. Faith told me that time travel was too dangerous to try again as it might tear reality apart" Alicia said. "Weren't you listening? I said reality was rewritten not time travel. Look, time travel damages the fabric of reality because it's so localized. You're changing the past on Earth not the universe. It's like taking a sewing needle and poking holes in reality. At first it's not so bad. Saving a few lives here and there. Resetting the last hour or so. After a while it adds up. Those tiny holes you poke begin to grow and tear. Lilith took advantage of the situation by rewriting reality with a perception spell implanted at the source of the most recent damage. It's like sewing a patch on a quilt. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she didn't care about the collateral damage that would result" he said.

"What perception? What's the real damage?" Alicia asked. "The perception is the entire rucking world was to worship her and her friends instead of their God or gods. Nobody has visited a church, synagogue, temple, shrine, or mosque since the beginning of the year. In fact, those of belief began to pray to them and only them. It made them stronger and keeps doing so every day that passes. As for the real damage, humanity was designed with one inherent belief. Free will. You mess with that and the whole foundation of their species crumbles. Care to guess how many have died because she changed reality?" he asked. Alicia didn't want to ask. "113 million. For so many, it was only their belief in something good, pure, and just that kept them going. The change affected their minds but deep down in their souls, they felt something infinitely precious torn away. They couldn't take it. They took their own lives because they couldn't understand why they felt so empty. It even affected atheists Alicia. Even the belief of nothing is still belief" he said softly.

"I didn't know" she muttered. Joseph picked up a picture and caressed it. The man shed a tear. "Who did you lose?" she asked quietly. "A man named Tim. I loved him as the son I should've had. He was a preacher of a church and father to a woman I considered my granddaughter. He hung himself in the shower last April" he said softly. His eyes grew so soft and cold then Alicia shivered. "There has to be a way to undo this. Faith's last message to us was to seek you and others out" she said. "And she did not come herself because?" he asked. "She was possessed by Lilith" she replied. "Now it makes sense. I wondered how Lilith had enough power to do something of this scale. She used the collected magics Faith had and combined them with the conceptual domains of the other goddesses. But how would she rewrite reality without a point of reference?" he asked. "Selah mentioned she has the true Sephiroth" she said. "The map of creation? The real map?! She really did think this through" he sighed. "How do you know of all this?" she asked. "Because I tried it myself long ago. Shortly after me and my siblings burned the world, I decided to find a way to rewrite our fates. Make so we never got Etherion. As you'd might expect, using a power like Etherion made most of the work easy until it came time to actually do it. I used my power to demand to see how creation was made. It nearly drove me mad. I abandoned the idea, but I remember glimpses of the forbidden knowledge. The Sephiroth was one of them" he said.

"We're thinking the barrier surrounding the island shielded us somehow" Alicia said softly. "Most likely true. There are many kinds of barriers. A perception barrier, an invisibility one, and then you have physical ones that warp space to defend against impacts, the natural world, and magics. The latter would be most effective against reality warping. Hmm...There might be a way to undo this. Recreate the conditions that led to this. A vessel containing deity level elemental magics, acquiring the conceptual domains of the goddesses, and then using the Sephiroth to restart the process" he said. "Will you help me?" Alicia asked. Joseph got up from his chair and walked outside. Alicia followed. The cool October air blew steadily in the very late night as Georgia was many hours behind Indonesia. "...call me when you need me the very most to avoid interference. And one other thing you must be aware of child. For all this to happen, you have to become what you fear the most. A destroyer of life. To them, Lilith is a goddess most high and in this world, you're the bad guys. They will fight you with their own version of righteousness in their hearts and they will not yield" he said. "I understand" Alicia said. "No, you don't, but you will" he said softly. Alicia left him standing outside looking at the stars and went home.

Back in Japan...

They were all alerted to the sound of painful whimpering outside before a house shaking thud. Selah, Skylar, Ichiro, and those outside rushed to the commotion. There they found a now giantess Hikari. "What did you do?!" Skylar asked. "...grew to human size obviously" she whispered. "But that's really dangerous for a koonago! Hana was in serious pain when she did it!" Selah said. "I admit it hurt. Shrinking is one thing, growing yourself behind your normal size is another. How do borrowers do it so easily?" Hikari asked. "They're built for it. Their muscles and bones are denser. They can take more stress. Apparently koonago are more delicate" Skylar said. "It could've killed you. A stroke, aortic rupture" Skylar added. "Necessary for them" Hikari pointed to her people staring at their giant naked princess. "To regain their trust in you" Ichiro said. "Hear me. Tomorrow I will venture forth to take our people back and to punish those who would lay violence and death on our lands. So says the imperial princess of the koonago and sole heir to the throne of Japan by way of Meji" she said holding out her hand. The people bowed before her.

"Go and spread her word! Give prayers to her highness for victory!" Ichiro yelled. They obeyed and dispersed. "Are they gone yet?" Hikari asked with closed eyes. "Yeah they're gone" Selah replied. Hikari winced and braced herself. "I believe the bath can do some good" she muttered standing up. She walked away. "That was weird and random" Selah said. "The bath part? Our baths have healing properties" Ichiro said. "And apparently she's more hurt than she's letting on" Skylar said pinging to drops of blood on the ground. Ichiro grew concerned. "Come Selah.

Back to the house" Skylar said. "But Hikari..."

"Leave that to him" Skylar said winking at him. Ichiro coughed and proceeded to walk in the direction Hikari was heading.

Hikari slipped her feet into the hot spring. Normally, it would be huge to her on the scale of an Olympic swimming pool, but now barely the size of a bathtub. It was a community pool as everyone had access to it. At the moment though she was all alone. She sneezed out the remainder of blood form her nose and wiped her hand on the grass. She winced in pain once more. "Your shoulder is dislocated" Ichiro muttered startling her. "I can feel that. It happened when I grew" she said. "I can pop it back in of you shrink" he said. "Right now, it is too dangerous for me to shrink. I can do it myself" she said stubbornly. She placed her palm flat on the ground and braced herself as she pushed forward. A sickening pop and she yelled in pain. "See? Nothing to it" she huffed. "Then I worried for nothing" he said. Ichiro found himself staring at her naked beauty. She had her back turned to him, but he could see her royal blood fared well. "Ichiro? Why did you not kiss me when you had the chance?" she asked suddenly. "It...it is not my place. You are a princess. I am a retainer" he stammered. She turned to face him. Water trickling down her breasts and body. "Is that all I am? A princess and not a woman?" she asked. "...what would you have me say?" the small man asked walking closer to her.

"The truth" she replied. "Of course, I see the woman that is you. I would have to be blind and deaf not to. And when you held your son, your body close to mine and that pain in your eyes" he said softly. "And why not? We have known each other way too long for excuses" she said. "Because your heart is wounded. Too easy a prize" he said. "Oh. You wanted not to take advantage of me. Tell me Ichiro. When I give you orders, who obeys? The man or the retainer?" she asked. "Both" he said. "For the next hour, you are hereby relieved of duty. You are not my retainer during that time" she ordered. "Have I offended thee?" he asked. She used her hand to scoot him closer. She began pulling his clothing off slowly. "Bathe with me" she said. Nervously, he stepped into the pool. The hot water eased his tense muscles but not his stress. She sprinkled the exposed part of his body with water. "If I fail, there will have to be some changes. I know there is another clan of koonago living in the west but as we are, we cannot show ourselves to them. As of that, the old caste system must be dissolved. Furthermore, each woman must have more than one mate" she said. He looked up at the giantess and wanted to object but he knew she was right. For them not to die out, at least their clan anyway, polygamy had to be observed.

"Where should we begin? The servants, the farmers, the craftsmen?" he asked. Hikari propped her leg on top of the other raising her bare sole out of the water. She rubbed her foot. He had seen her bare feet many times over the past century but never that big. "I am of a person that would not ask anyone to do something I would not. What is the quality of your seed?" she asked. Ichiro swore he misheard her. "Your semen, sperm, spunk, baby batter. Is it any good?" she asked blushing. "I had kids. You know that" he said. "Goddamit I mean recently!" she yelled. "I guess!" he stammered. She placed him on the ground and got out. "I wish to mate with you" she whispered. He looked at the giantess in shock trying to look between her legs. "Hikari. You cannot be serious. We don't even know yet this is necessary" he said. She gave him a look he'd never forget. A look of pain, anger, and dejection. He had broken her heart. "Are you that desperate not to touch me?" she asked crying. He felt deeply ashamed of himself. "Not desperate. I fear I may disappoint you in that matter and that is a personal failure too heavy to bear. I am... unworthy of your affection" he said softly.

"Let me be the judge of that" she said quietly. Ichiro stepped right up to her pussy. It gave him a slight thrill to see the princess blushing so hard. He leaned in and began licking. He could hear the giantess whimper and coo as he ate her out. Once she was nice and wet, he began fucking her. Hikari never touched him as much as she wanted to simply push the small man inside her. She knew it took a great deal of courage on his behalf to get this far and not to do anything to jeopardize that. She looked down at him and smiled warmly. The man grunted as he pounded himself into her over and over until with a shout he emptied his seed in her cavernous cunt. "See. I was unworthy. You did not cum" he said softly. She slipped her finger down inside her and scooped out with little seed he had left. She sucked her finger clean. "Ichiro...you are indeed worthy. Look at my toes" she said. He did and saw they were curled tightly. "You...did..."

"Twice. I did not wish to frighten you" she replied. "I doubt you can do anything to frighten me" he chuckled. He picked him up. "Nothing you say?" she said placing the tip of her finger underneath his balls. "...almost nothing. Princess, wouldn't this be more meaningful if you were normal size?" he asked. "I needed your compassion right now. Not later. You always knew how to show it when I needed it" she replied. "And your strength, and your devotion. You still have the scar" she said touching his chest. "Yes. I saw no need to get rid of it" he said. "Maybe you don't wish to forget that day for personal reasons" she said. He grew quiet. "...that was long ago, and we were different back then" he said.

May 1905 outskirts of Tokyo...

"Princess. We have seen enough. It's time to return" Ichiro who was 16 at the time. "Aren't you curious as to how this will play out?" Hikari who was 38 at the time but looked barely 15 asked. "No, I am not. Another squabble between humans doesn't concern me" he said standing next to her. They were perched in a tree branch watching a battalion of troops heading north to Hokkaido. "This is no ordinary squabble. Foreigners waging war have come to our shores. Mother has not been this concerned since the Mongols. She wants to know how the Japanese will win this. It does affect us" she said. "Be as it may, these Russians seem to fight a protracted war they are not fully prepared for. A nation their size should've won this by now" he said. He sighed softly. "Let us go. We can learn thing more here and it will take time to return home" he said. Hikari nodded and he helped her down from the tree. He helped straighten her kimono and she smiled at him. "Taking your time with that aren't you?" she smiled. He blushed. "Even alone you should look regal" he said. He walked beside her as they made their way through the forest. She suddenly stopped as the strap on her geta broke. He had her sit down. "While you are there, might as well rub my feet" she said. Ichiro sighed as he fixed her strap and took ahold of her tiny left foot.

"Mother has asked me to choose a husband from the approved linage" she said. "I'm sure they are of noble stock" he said softly rubbing the ball of her foot. "Noble stock is not all I desire. Being a certain bloodline is no guarantee of a decent man. I wish for a man who is kind, gentle, and rubs my feet when they hurt" she said. He paused. "You may find someone like that" he said starting on her other foot. Hikari grunted. "And what if I do not?" she asked. "Then it is a pity" he replied. Hikari pulled her foot from him and stood up. "Continue" she barked. They had walked further until they smelled something sweet and waxy. "Hold. Something is amiss. There are no other insects here. PRINCESS!" he yelled shoving her aside as something swooped down from above. He yelled out in pain as a Japanese hornet skewered him through the shoulder. He dropped his katana and she picked it up. "NO! His blood will attract others!" he yelled. Hikari killed the frightening creature snapping at him by trapping its head in a bubble of water and then freezing it. Ichiro pushed the thing off him and cried out as he pulled himself off its stinger.

He began shaking uncontrollably. "Pri...princess....you need to continue just in case..." he stammered. "Shut up fool!" she yelled as she began healing him. She closed the wounds, but she could see he was very far from being healed. "So...cold..." he said shivering. "The venom" she muttered. Her abilities could not counteract hornet venom, so she quickly gathered a special herb for him to ingest. By this point, he was passing out. Hikari chewed it in her mouth and kissed him pushing the chaw into his to swallow. His body had grown very cold and weak. Hikari pulled off giant leaves and dragged them to him. There she made a bed and cover and stripped naked. She climbed on top of him and placed the leaf on top of them. Hikari had been flirting with him but now naked on top of him she was embarrassed. Nighttime came and he had finally stopped shaking. "Hikari..." he muttered in his sleep. She blushed hearing her name with no honorifics. "What are you dreaming about?" she asked. As if to answer her, his left arm hugged her close. He nuzzled her head close to his neck. She could feel his heartbeat, smell him. She felt...good being on him. Thankfully, they were not attacked again during the night.

Morning came and Ichiro awoke. His left hand felt something warm, supple, and smooth. "By the Kami..." he muttered realizing he was fondling his princess' bare ass. He jerked his hand back and the full realization of her completely naked on his naked body dawned on him. His mind frantically played back yesterday. He had been stabbed through by a hornet sting. Normally, it would've been instant death but going clean through gave him a slight dose instead of the full amount. He remembered her face. Terrified with tears as she closed his wounds. Then a feeling of cold as a visage of a sandal wearing giantess behind them stood kneeling over them. "A Shinigami. Must've been. She kept me from death" he muttered looking at Hikari's face. Be it morning wood or her naked body on him, Ichiro's erection rubbed on her pussy lips. He reached out and pushed her hair out of her face.

It wakened her. "O...ohaiyo..." he stammered getting her off him. She shed tears and hugged him tightly. "I thought you were going to die" she sobbed. "You should've left me. This place is still not safe" he said. She looked at him before slapping him. "Idiot!" she yelled standing up. He looked away at her nakedness. Once they had both dressed and peed, they continued. She was very quiet as they trekked to a place they could return home from. He suddenly stopped in his tracks. "I'm not an idiot. I know full well you have feelings for me. You are meant to be with a noble and I am betrothed to Kanami my cousin and that is that" he said. "If it was simply that you wouldn't be so irritated" she said. "It is not my place to say anything contrary! I do believe we should be free to marry who we love but we are koonago. There are rules in place longer than we have been alive that serve purpose. Clean bloodlines produce strong offspring. A hierarchy gives structure" he said. "And yet I am here half human. I am proof that making a strong healthy child is not bound to bloodlines alone" she said. "Exception meets rule" he said softly. "So, you say you felt nothing as I slept on your body? Felt no stirring realizing who was naked upon you? Do not dare lie to me" she said. Ichiro threw his three-inch katana, his badge of office, onto the forest floor.

"Yeah I felt something. I wanted to fuck you hard. To pin you down as I rammed you over and over and filled you with my seed. Your glory is fucking wasted on those nobles that see you nothing as a baby maker at best and a fucking trophy at worst. If I were born to a noble family, I would worship you day and night. You would want for NOTHING" he said walking up to her. Ichiro roughly kissed her long and hard invading her mouth with his tongue. He only let go to give her a chance to breathe. Hikari fell on her butt. He bent down. "Sometimes the truth is crueler than the lie" he said softly caressing her hair. He helped her to his feet. "In another life, my princess" he said quietly as he picked his katana back up. Neither said a word as they returned home.

"She's a lucky woman" Hikari said seeing Kanami, his fiancée waving at his arrival. "About earlier..." he muttered. "Your katana seems heavier in my presence" she said. He simply nodded. "For one night during the Tanabata festival, we are just a man and woman. We shall bare ourselves like we did today. And what comes...comes" she said softly. "The Tanabata festival*. You always did have a poetic side. Agreed" he said.

(Authors note: The Tanabata festival has its origins in China but this particular form is Japanese. It is said that the goddess Orihime and the lower deity Hikoboushi fell in love and married. However, they were so in love, they forgot their duties and put heaven off balance. Orihime's father separated them but eventually let Orihime see her husband for one day a year if the Milky Way was passable (not raining that day). The festival is usually held on July 7th (unless it rains, and the two deities have to wait until next year). So Hikari here is comparing herself to Orihime and Ichiro to Hikoboushi.)

Now...

"Even though we met every year, we never had sex. Why is that?" Hikari asked him as she stroked his tiny chest. "I think we needed someone to talk to that didn't care about titles. The fact that you stayed single so long is astounding. Although, I see why now. None of your suitors was me" he said quietly. "For the longest time I hated Kanami because she had you. But when she died with your children in the Tokyo bombing raid, I felt so ashamed. I was a failure as a princess and your friend" she said. "Nobody is perfect, not even you. But I do remember how you held me in your arms as I cried for them on that Tanabata" he said. He hopped down on the ground and looked at the stars Altair and Vega, the two stars representing Orihime and Hikoboushi. "I missed you this Tanabata. I won't do so again but next year...we will be celebrating with our child" he said. The giantess let out a girlish squeal. "Good night Hikari" he said leaving her.

Hikari returned to the village and with Skylar's and Selah's help, shrunk down more safely. The girls were amused but puzzled at how the princess grinned constantly until bedtime. "She had sex" Selah snickered as they lay in their futons. "Probably" Skylar said turning over. "Is it that different when you love them? I mean I've seen the ZODIAC fucking all the time..." she asked. "So, I've been told. I wouldn't know. When I've had sex, it's been for a job or...amusement for a god" Skylar replied. Selah knew Skylar's life wasn't a good one before she came but she didn't know she was raped. Selah scooted into her futon and hugged her from behind. "Wha...what are you doing?" Skylar asked. "Hugging you silly. Hugs are like ice cream. They fix everything" she replied. Skylar chuckled as her innocence. "Thanks squirt" she whispered.

The next morning...

Skylar stepped outside and sat on the steps next to Hikari. She was humming softly as she fed her son. "You seem a lot better this morning" Skylar said. Hikari nodded. "Some to do with him?" she asked pointing to Ichiro who was practicing his sword swings. "What do you mean?" Hikari asked. "Don't be coy. Your eyes haven't left him in minutes. Every time those muscles of his move, you smile ever so slightly. Those taunt muscles glistening with sweat" Skylar whispered. Hikari shifted her body slightly. "Last night. Was he gentle?" Skylar asked. Hikari was about to berate her tactless attitude until her hand squeezed hers. "He was...vulnerable. He felt very fragile in my hands. After we...had our first bout of sex, I felt satisfied in one way and longing in another. I had to restrain myself" she replied. "Faith said you're over 100-year-old..."

"155 this spring to be exact" Hikari finished. "And no husband at all during that time?" Skylar asked. "No. According to tradition, female royalty may set a condition for a noble to pass before they are chosen for marriage. I chose a question. "What do I want the most in the world?" Noblemen spent over a century trying to guess what I desired. Gemstones, ancient books, priceless swords, one even promised his soul. I wanted none of that" she said. "What do you want Hikari?" Skylar asked. Hikari looked at Ichiro and smiled. "Him" she replied. "It seems the crown prince is no longer hungry" Skylar said glancing down at the boy pushing his mother's breast out of his face. "It occurs to me that my son is not just the prince of the koonago. He is the prince of Japan now as well now that Aki-chan is dead. "Aki-chan?" Skylar asked. "Prince Akihito. The ruler of the Heisei era. We were living in the Reiwa era since he has stepped down. Now, now I have no idea what era this is" she said. Her son grasped at Skylar's arm. "Come here little guy" she said picking him up. "He likes you" Hikari smiled. "Feeling is mutual" Skylar said softly.

"What's wrong?" Hikari asked her. "I was pregnant once. Odin impregnated me but he forced me to have an abortion. He was a sadistic bastard, and I was younger and more foolish but there are times I wonder" she said. "Why don't you babysit for a while" Hikari said standing up. Skylar looked at her surprised. "No thanks. If you'll excuse me, I have to make a call" she said handing the boy back to his mother. Hikari watched her walk away wondering if her gesture did more harm than good. Skylar walked a ways outside the village and passed through the barrier before growing to human size. As she suspected, her cell signal returned. Her phone lit up with voice messages and texts all from Alicia. "Ooh..." she winced reading them. Skylar sighed and called.

"About goddamned time! Where the hell did you go?! You disappeared right off GPS!" Alicia yelled. "To Hikari's ancestral homelands. Alicia, her home was destroyed. Only the main royal mansion survived. They were attacked by soldiers and half of her people were kidnapped.   

Only a few dozen managed to escape here" she replied. The line went silent for a moment. "How's she taking it?" Alicia asked. "Half of the people she grew up with are dead, the other half are missing including her mother. There's vengeance in her soul" Skylar replied. "We should meet up. Talk this out" Alicia said. "Not here" Hikari said at Skylar's foot. "You heard that" Skylar muttered. "Yeah barely. There's a maid cafe in Akibahara we can meet. I'll send the address" Alicia said. "Understood. Be there in a half hour" Skylar said ending the call. "I was worried, so I followed. What is there to discuss? I will wreck vengeance upon them" Hikari said. Skylar picked her up. "It's never that easy. Never. Alicia is worried you'll be walking into something you can't walk out of" she told her. "My mother..."

"Exactly. Your mother was taken and from what I heard she's as strong as you if not stronger. Was she not responsible for the Kanto Earthquake? If she was defeated, how will you fare?" Skylar asked. "You did your homework" the small princess muttered. "I took an interest in you yes. Hana looks up to you like a revered big sister. Nobody here wants you to storm off on some righteous crusade" she said. Hikari wanted to berate her for her choice of words but saw a callous on the palm of her hand. She slipped her sandal off and rubbed her tiny bare foot over it. The edges were rough, very rough but the top of the callous was smooth as glass. "You have seen much combat in your short years" she said. "Once a week before Faith yes. Odin had us train until our joints in our fingers swole. And then...I was unleashed on the world. I never walked into a fight without a plan. Partly why I survived as long" she said. "Let's see what Alicia has to say" Hikari said softly.

Selah was left behind as they did not know exactly what Tokyo had become. Hikari used the magics of the great spring she bathed in earlier to transport them to Akibahara. "A moment please" Hikari asked as her body was adjusting to human size once more. The trick was growing her slowly over the course of 10 minutes. Not as joint wrenching as before but still painful. They hid in an alleyway until Hikari was well enough to stand. "Don't move" a voice in their minds said. "Alicia?" Skylar asked. "Shh..." she said. A minute later, a young Japanese woman appeared before them. "You're radiating magics" she said. The woman touched Alicia and Hikari's shoulders revealing Alicia in disguise. "Don't move Skylar. You need a perception spell like I do. They don't take too kindly to foreigners here" she said. Alicia cast her spell on her weaving a powerful illusion and perception spell. "Good, now all anyone will see is three Japanese women speaking Japanese" she said walking onto the sidewalk. Hikari and Skylar followed.

Alicia opened the door to the cafe. "Good afternoon oneesama!" three young women in maid uniforms yelled. "Table for three please" Alicia said. A maid led them to a booth near the back. "You been here before?" Skylar asked. "Two years ago, during my world tour album release. Came here on a lark" Alicia replied. "I forgot you're Celine Cruz" she said. "That's not me. Only a persona Markus invented as a cover to do his bidding" she said. "But you do like to sing. I've heard your work. It's beautiful" Skylar said. "It can be dangerous too. I'm an S class Mage that can use harmonic synergy in my spellwork" she said. Skylar looked confused. "I can mix magic with my singing to make people stronger...among other things" she explained. Hikari motioned for them to be quiet. "Three jasmine teas" she said ordering as the maid came back. "Right away. Pardon but are you famous? I feel I've seen you before" she said. "Just one of those faces" Hikari replied. "If you say so. While I'm at it, your kimono is exceptional" she said. Hikari nodded silently. "Should've put a different illusion on you too. Of course someone would recognize the face of a koonago princess that's been on tv" Alicia sighed. "Let's just be quick about this. The vibe feels strange" Hikari said. "No kidding. Look what's hanging on the wall there" Skylar said. On the far right wall was a shrine with a young woman's picture. "That's actually common when a relative..."

"No. The katakana reads as "Praise be to the goddess Izanami". At least we got a face now" Hikari said. The maid came back with their teas. As she walked away, a male customer brushed his hand against the back of her nyloned leg as he reached down to pick his wallet up. She paused for a split second. "Now customer-san. That's not nice" she said taking a phone out of her pocket. She tapped a strange app on her phone. "Order of Shi member confirmed. What is the infraction?" the digital voice asked in Japanese. "Groping" she tapped. She showed the phone to the man. "Hiroto Asahi confirmed. This marks the third infraction. Sentence is death" it said. "Please! I was just trying to pick my wallet up!" he begged. The maid tapped the app once more before showing it to him. A light beamed onto him projecting a onmyoji style of talisman. He ran for the door as the light followed him on his back. He cried out in terror as he began to shrink. He was barely 2 1/2 inches tall when he made it to the door. The maid casually plucked him from the floor. "What do we do with this one?" she asked her coworkers.

"Ayumi suffocated the last one by putting him on her shoe and wearing it until her shift was over. Mine I just flushed down the toilet" one replied. "Hmm...I'll just eat him then" she shrugged. She ignored his pleading as she ripped his clothing off. The young woman rinsed his naked body in the sink before placing him in her mouth. His screams faded down her throat as she swallowed him alive. She finished by discarding his shrunken clothes in the waste bin. "Did you fuckin' see that?" Alicia asked. "I think we all did. This is worse than I thought. They combined magic with technology. Anyone with that app can use it" Hikari said. "How is such a thing possible?" Skylar asked. "Combining magic with technology isn't that hard. You only have to find a reasonable platform to work from. My transformation driver is part tech developed by...never mind" she said blushing. "Developed by whom?" Alicia asked. "...Sony" Hikari replied embarrassed. Skylar burst out laughing. "Shhh!" Hikari said. "Sony? As in the people that make the PlayStation?" Skylar chuckled. "Sony has been on the forefront of many technological advances for decades. They're even working on electric cars and self-navigation systems*" she said.

(Authors note: Absolutely true)

"Putting Sony's odd business decisions aside, I had a chat with Joseph, and he shed some light on what's going on. What Lilith did was somehow graft a perception spell on reality itself. People around the world stopped worshipping whatever they believed in and began worshipping Lilith, Izanami, Persephone, and Morrigan. They effectively rule the world" she said. "At the cost of my people it seems" Hikari muttered. "Not just yours. Over 100 million people ended their own lives because their very souls couldn't cope with the changes. Who knows how many more are dead like that poor bastard we just saw" Alicia said. "He knew why we were spared becoming like them?" Skylar asked pointing to the maids. "Like we thought, the barrier on the island protected us. Stands to reason similar barriers in other places did the same. We have to hurry before one of these goddesses notices the difference" Alicia said. "So, my people fell victim because our barrier was a perception one" Hikari said. Her tea began to boil. "Hikari" Alicia muttered. Her tea floated out of the cup and formed into a thin line of boiling liquid. She angrily cut the Izanami shrine in half shocking everyone in the cafe. The maids pulled out their phones. "Order of Shi member confirmed" their phones said. Hikari slashed the phones right out of their hands. "Hikari!" Alicia yelled. "Hikari?! You're the koonago princess! I knew I recognized you from somewhere!" the maid that waited on them said. Hikari raised her hand. "And you are the ones worshipping that fucking monster" Hikari hissed as she fired off three consecutive shrinking spells.

Each one shrank to only an inch tall. Hikari casually walked up to each of them and slipped her sandal off. With not a word, she crushed the first one with her big toe. They scrambled seeing their coworker reduced to a stain which Hikari smeared on the floor. The giantess princess took two steps and squashed another leaving the original maid. "Please! Please don't!" she begged. "Like that poor man from earlier? How many met their ends for frivolous things? How many yourself have you killed? You worship your death goddess so much then embrace her" Hikari said coldly as she lowered her imperial once pristine rosy sole over her body. Everyone watched silently as she brought it down slowly. The tiny girl's whimpering turned into a scream as the giant sole flesh touched her outward extended hands. Her screams became shrieks as it pushed down on her body and then a muffle as her face was buried. Then...a wet pop and crunch. Hikari stood there grinding the ball of her foot back and forth for 10 long seconds until nothing but red smear was left. "Goddamit we have to leave!" Alicia yelled pointing to the window. A woman with a phone had seen everything. Alicia grabbed Hikari and motioned for Skylar to flee. They ran into an alley as police sirens in the distance came closer. Hikari summoned her water magic to take them back to the village.

Hikari said nothing as she began walking to the village from the spring. "You have any idea what you just did? You exposed us all! Any advantage of surprise is fucking gone!" Alicia yelled grabbing Hikari's shoulder. Hikari grabbed her wrist and twisted it painfully. "Do not presume to lecture me! My people are either dead or missing! My fellow Japanese are in a fucking death cult murdering males for the glory of a woman who has been the bogeyman for the people of this nation since time memorial! And while we sit and drink tea her followers murder a man for dropping his fucking wallet at a bad time. You want to berate me for killing those worthless fucking creatures? News flash! A lot more and going to die tonight because I'm going to the research center and I don't give a fuck if you're coming or not. Cover blown? I can command a fucking water dragon. Ask me if a fucking care!" Hikari screamed crying. Skylar grabbed Hikari's arm. "This...this is what I was talking about. Your rage and grief has clouded your judgement. You command a water dragon? Well, we don't and neither do they. Neither does he. What about them Hikari? What danger have they been exposed to now they know we're here?" Skylar asked after pointing to Ichiro. Hikari let go of Alicia. She looked aghast realizing the full extent of what could come of what she did. She staggered off leaving them. "She had blood on her toes. What happened?" Ichiro asked. "Nothing good. She needs time alone" Skylar replied. 

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