"It's already half past eight... I'd better go get something to eat right away. Practice starts at 9 and I can't go on an empty stomach, or I'll collapse. Later." Shana said before running off to grab some food.

As she ran, she glanced in Suki's direction and saw that she was already ignoring her, most likely because her thoughts were already focused on those tinies...

She let out an exasperated sigh and continued jogging.

Soon she arrived at McDonald's, where she always went for breakfast, and ordered her usual: a McGriddles with sausage and eggs, no cheese because she was lactose intolerant, and a large Coke.

As a longtime customer, the employees knew her routine and prepared her food a few minutes early, allowing her to get it and eat it while going to practice.

After she had taken her meal, she swiped her card at the cash register and walked out of the fast food joint, eating as she went.

When she arrived at the gym, she took a last sip of her Coke before tossing the trash away, then took a deep breath as she placed her hand on the doorknob ‘Let's hope the idiots aren't going to be as annoying as they usually are...’ Shana hoped before she turned the knob to open the door.

Her hopes were dashed as soon as she entered the room.

All 5 of her other teammates were already there...and they were already going through their usual routines.

Liliana, the team leader, was lying on a bench wearing only her underwear and using Amanda's lap as a pillow while she combed her hair.

Her two other followers were busy with other tasks: Nicole knelt on the floor and focused on trimming her nails, and Sarah, sitting across the bench from Amanda, gleefully rubbed her feet.

Satsuki, their self-proclaimed bodyguard, was positioned behind them, watching the scene intently... or vacantly, she could never tell.

Meanwhile, Hannah sat in the corner, trying not to be noticed.

"I think I walked in during the Queen's daily grooming... may I come in or am I interrupting, Your Majesty?" Shana said sarcastically before slamming the door behind her.

Most of them, having gotten used to her outbursts, ignored her and went on with what they were doing.

However, Hannah, lost in thought, was caught off guard and let out a startled yelp before jumping to her feet, only to trip over herself and fall.

Liliana sighed softly, while Shana snorted at her lack of motor skills.

"Sat-tan, would you be a doll and go help her? And please look after her in case she is injured." Liliana asked Satsuki, not wanting to move at all.

Hannah, who was embarrassed by her own reaction, immediately sat up from the floor and shook her head "No! I'm okay! I'm not in need of any kind of help! ..really..."

But Satsuki, who didn't give a damn about anything other than what Liliana told her to do, remained silent and pointed to another bench where she wanted her to sit.

Terrified, Hannah nodded and followed the unspoken request, shaking and sitting down.

While Setsuna nursed Hannah, Shana, having no such sympathy, began scolding her "How can it be that you can't even stand up like a normal person? You already have the presence and social skills of a rock. Could you at least try to learn how to walk without hitting the ground with your teeth?"

Hannah kept quiet, her long black hair covering her downcast face.

"Oh my, that's quite a bit of negativity even for you, my dear. Is there something on your mind that you'd like to share?" asked Liliana, clapping her hands to get Shana's attention.

"Hell no! Mind your own fucking business, dyke!" Shana screamed in frustration, but soon regretted it as she was thrown to the ground and pinned down by Satsuki, who had a firm grip on her arm and a knee on her back.

“Damn it! It fuckin’ hurts! Tell your damn dog to let go of me, you bitch!” Shana cried out in pain as she tried in vain to free herself from Satsuki's iron grip.

"Wolf..." Satsuki said with a grunt and planted her knee even harder into Shana's back, before she paused for a second to think about it and said instead, "No... Tiger!"

Looking at the scene, Liliana couldn't help but sigh.

"Sorry dears, I have to take care of this," she said to her friends, who immediately stopped what they were doing, though with different reactions. Especially Amanda, who looked almost heartbroken as she put a pair of sandals on Liliana's feet.

Still in her underwear, Liliana rose and went over to Setsuna, putting her hand gently on her head and stroking her short, spiky black hair "Sat-tan, honey, can you please not break her? We need her to be able to play the game."

"Kicking doesn't need arms." Satsuki replied, but still released Shana from her grasp.

Giggling at what Setsuna said, Liliana looked down at Shana and smiled softly "Honestly, Shana, when are you going to learn not to antagonize my Sat-tan? You should have learned by now that it's not a good idea to upset a black belt... unless, of course, you enjoy being knocked to the ground? Or having her on top of you? Or maybe a little of both?”

As she sat up, Shana rubbed her aching shoulder "I am not a masochist or a lesbian, damn it..."

"Your loss, my dear. The latter, in particular, can be quite enjoyable." Liliana said with amusement, hugging her breasts for emphasis, before she became serious again "But, please, do stop trying to avoid the subject, my dear. What is it that troubles you today?"

Shana tried to keep quiet and continued to massage her aching shoulder, but when Setsuna growled, she started to roll her eyes "Okay, fine, hell! It's Suki... and Barbie... and that little shit... they all lost their fucking minds yesterday..."

Liliana leaned on her elbow with one hand, tapping her cheek thoughtfully with the other, trying to decipher what Shana had said "So not just Suki, but... Miss Emily and… your little sister as well, I take it?"

"She isn't my sister..." Shana muttered, making Liliana sigh.

"Okay... you didn't say no, so I guess that's a confirmation of my guess as to who you had in mind. Now, what nefarious deeds have these three been up to that can disturb your psyche so much?" Liliana went on with her question.

With a face that was a very close imitation of a pout, Shana replied "It happened last night... Suki and I were watching some stupid movie when Barbie came back, and as usual the brat got excited and started jumping around her like a dog in heat, but being noisier than usual."

Just remembering what happened made Shana grit her teeth.

"Well, long story short, Barbie brought a tiny one into the dorm, Suki got cravings and tried to eat it, but  ended up getting her ass handed to her from Barbie herself... and amidst the chaos, the little pest ran off with it, telling me to fuck off before locking herself in Barbie's room! It was nuts!"

Liliana clapped her hands together with a smile on her face "Oh! Has little Maya finally dared to stand up and rebel? You must be so proud of her!"

Shana narrowed her eyes at her "Have you gone crazy? Why the fuck would I be proud of that little piece of shit? If nothing else, I hate her!"

"Oh? Is that so?" Liliana said with an amused grin on her face "If that's the case... why do you always take her with you? Wouldn't it be easier for you to just leave her in her room all by herself when your stepmother is away on a business trip?"

"I'm just doin' it to get that bitch off my back! And besides, I always hand her over to Barbie right away, it's not like I have to put up with her!" Shana was quick to respond, immediately trying to justify her actions.

Liliana giggled, covering her mouth with a hand "Sure, that's why you're doing this."

When she returned to her seat, Liliana crossed her legs and looked at Shana with a serious look "Let's continue, though, and tell what happened last night. I simply can't imagine that dear Emily would resort to violence... that's beyond her..."

Pleased with the change of subject, Shana folded her arms and looked away "Yeah... last night felt like a spine growing fair. When Suki tried to swallow the little one, Barbie just head-butted her in the chest without thinking twice... I have to say, she had guts..." she begrudgingly admitted.

"Really? Is it actually possible that one day you two could become friends with each other?" Liliana inquired with a smile.

"The hell it is. Just because I no longer think she's some damn goody two-shoes doesn't mean we'll become BFFs!" Shana retorted angrily.

"Still a step forward from yesterday though..." Liliana replied absently, while her mind was on the rest of the situation "And what about the Little Folk? How are they?"

"The what, now?" Shana said in a confused tone before she remembered what Emily had called the tiny.

"Oh yeah, that... I guess it's OK? Not that I give a damn about it, but I ran into Suki in the park a little while ago. She told me that she was afraid of Barbie and that she was going to leave it alone..."

After a few moments of silence, Shana shuddered and groaned in disgust.

"But I am quite sure that she has lost her mind... I found her on her knees on the ground, digging through the bushes for tinies to feed on... she even masturbated in front of me just at the thought of it! She's sick in the head, I'm tellin' ya..."

"That's really... quite disconcerting..." Liliana nodded with a frown on her face "It's a sad thing that these poor little darlings have to suffer such a fate just because of a whim."

"You do know that I step on at least one of them pretty much every day, don't you?" Shana said, scowling.

Liliana waved a hand "Even though it's also unfortunate, you are not doing it with ill will, or even on purpose, to be honest. It's simply an unfortunate and frequent occurrence..."

After pondering for a moment, she added "But it's quite strange indeed. For years now, you've been practicing at the same place and time every day. They should know about it and avoid the route, so why is it still the case?"

"They're stupid?" Shana suggested, shrugging her shoulders "They're tiny, so I don't think they have that much of a brain."

"It's not that..." Liliana said as she went into her teacher mode "The size of the brain has to be considered in relation to the size of the creature in which it is housed. For example, rats can be considered to be almost as intelligent as human beings, in spite of their small size!"

"So it's not about size, but how you use it? Like a dick?" Shana said with a smirk.

"While the comparison is oddly apt, especially when you consider the way some men use them interchangeably, could you please refrain from mentioning that disgusting thing? Thanks in advance..." Liliana replied with a disgusted look on her face.

"Ok, let's change the subject to something else, such as how we should have been ready and in the gym ten minutes ago." Shana said, pointing to the clock on the top of the door.

Gasping in shock, Liliana, the only one still undressed, turned to her three friends "Ladies! Engage Iron-Woman protocol, quickly!"

Immediately, as Liliana lifted her limbs to better accommodate them, the three girls went into a flurry of movement.

Amanda pulled her long blonde hair into a ponytail before slipping a gym shirt down her arms, Nicole pulled her gym shorts up her legs and Sarah pulled a sock over her foot before pulling on and tying her shoe.

"What are your thoughts? Kind of cool, huh?" Liliana said to Shana with a satisfied grin on her face as soon as they were done with it "The girls and I have done a lot of training for just such an eventuality!"

Shana frowned and said "There's so much wrong with this that I don't know where to start... so I'm just going to point out the fact that your left foot is bare."

Immediately, five pairs of eyes fell on her left foot, and saw that it was, indeed, bare.

Turning her attention to Hannah, who was still trying to blend in with the background, Liliana lifted her leg and stretched out her foot in her direction, saying plaintively "Hannah! Why haven't you been doing your part?"

Hannah, in shock at being called out, stammered "M-Me? What have I to do with this?"

"We are a team! And as in any team, everyone has a role to play! If even one doesn't contribute, the whole thing falls apart!" Liliana explained, moving her foot up and down to emphasize her point.

"Ehh?!" Hannah cried confusedly before she pointed at Setsuna who was extremely alert... or sleeping on her feet with her eyes open. Hard to tell. "Why didn't you ask her? She isn't doing anything!"

Still with her foot in the air and pointing at Hannah, Liliana explained. "My dear, Sat-tan has an important and delicate role to play from which she must not be distracted."

"To be a peeping Tom?" Shana spoke up in a sarcastic tone, tilting her head. "Truly a key role in every team..."

"Absolutely, but in this case her role is to be the last line of defense to protect me and my retinue." Liliana explained, still waving her foot at Hannah, who was still hesitating.

Still trying to figure out how to get out of this, Hannah looked at Shana. But before she could even open her mouth to speak, Shana, noticing her look and knowing where she was going, said "No." emphasizing her refusal with a clenched fist.

With a sigh of defeat, Hannah gave in to the inevitable and walked over to Liliana, kneeling down in front of her foot, much to Liliana's delight.

With a shake of her head Shana said "You know what? Shit like this is why you had to pay me to have a full team. If you keep it up like this, we can only dream of ever having a backup player..."

As she watched Hannah work on her foot, Liliana replied to her question "And to have to deal with dozens of characters of questionable quality or usefulness? Thanks, but no thanks. I prefer to personally choose who belongs to my team, even if I have to pay for it out of my own pocket. At the end of the day, I only want people I can get along with and enjoy being around.”

Shana's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock "Wha? But that... why did you... why me...?"

She spun around and stormed out of the changing room, screaming "Get fucked by a running bull, you dumb dyke!" and slammed the door behind her.

Seeing how she reacted, Liliana started to giggle ‘She may not be cute in the traditional sense of the word, but Shana can still be adorable in her own way.’