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Author's Chapter Notes:

Oh hey, I did that thing where I put words on digital paper.

This here's a story featuring Shouko, an OC belonging to Picojin. I wanted to do a quick little something featuring her and Pico was nice enough to provide an image for it. The image is embedded on a Deviantart version of this story and a color version can be found on Pico's Patreon and Deviantart!

Thanks again to Pico for letting me do this, and I hope you all enjoy!

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My heart pounded as I sat waiting in the sterile examination room. Over the course of twenty or so minutes the silence had grown deafening, broken only by the constant ticks of a wall-mounted clock and my own irregular breaths. No music. No phones. No people. Nothing to help occupy my wandering mind from every nagging detail around me. From the pale blue walls to the subtle itch of the medical gown against my bare skin. Tempting as it was I fought back the urge to dig my nails into it; and instead occupied myself by, once again, looking over the medical bracelet along my wrist. 

Subject #214

Was it strange to be unnerved by a number? Something about it felt so...impersonal. Like it was reducing me to a line on a spreadsheet, and yet there was also a strange comfort to it. A silly contradiction, but the truth. This bracelet was my proof that despite feelings to the contrary I wasn’t in this alone. In fact, at least 213 others shared my plight. Many of them perhaps even sitting where I sat and observing the same walls with the same boredom I now faced. The thought brought a sly smile to my lips, seeming to make the time go by ever-so-slightly quicker. 

“Derek?” 

I was evidently so lost in my musings that I hadn’t noticed that a figure now stood in the doorway, her friendly voice beckoning my attention. 

“Ah, Dr. Shouko.” I replied absentmindedly.

Standing there, clipboard in hand, the good doctor offered me a soft smile and took my greeting as an invitation to enter. Her appearance was deceptive, casual clothing beneath a white lab coat and messy red hair belying a genius intellect. She offered a cursory wave before focusing on her clipboard to jot down some initial notes. “Sorry I kept you waiting. You would not believe how busy I’ve been today!”

A wry laugh escaped my lips as I waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it Doc.” I said, well used to the woman’s scatterbrained nature. Especially since I was doubtlessly far from the first person she’d seen today. 

“So how’re you feeling? Everything good?”

“Doing about as well as I can be. Can’t complain.”

“Good!” She grinned. 

Once she’d finished marking her initial notes, Shouko pulled back a sheet, read for a moment, and nodded. “Looks like today’s the big day then, huh?” She remarked. “Says here all your tests came back green and you’re all clear for the treatment. Congratulations!” A brilliant smile was directed my way before she tilted her head with a sly smirk. “You sure you need it though? You look a bit taller than I remember.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that, her goofy smile effortlessly putting me at ease. With a face like that even if worse came to worst I appeared to be in good hands. Arguably clumsy ones though. A small comfort in the face of such concerning circumstances.

You see, while at a glance I appeared like any other man, the truth was I was anything but. I was, essentially, a ticking time bomb. A victim who at any moment could be robbed of anything and everything. A victim to the dreadful disease known as Shrinking. 

Oh to be sure, it had a fancy scientific name that others liked to use to beat around the bush, but it was what it was. It was shrinking, plain and simple; and I was one of the unlucky few to have contracted such an illness. Even as I sat there exchanging pleasantries with Shouko it lurked within me. A predator coursing my veins and waiting for its opportune moment. There was no way to know when it would strike. Perhaps I could lose a foot in the next five minutes. Or maybe in twenty years I’ll be little more than an atom in my own carpet. 

A terrifying thing to be certain, but it was the lack of knowing when that was the hardest to cope with. In the month since my diagnosis I rarely went more than a few minutes without contemplating it. Without some kind of unpleasant reminder somewhere. Spying a bug lurking in the grass. A woman walking with her child. Seeing toys on store shelves. All constant reminders of what could await me. It had a way of putting a man on edge. Of making him desperate, and it was in that desperation that I found my way to Shouko. 

Contrary to what her ditzy demeanor suggested, she was one of the nation’s foremost experts on endemic shrinking diseases. A gifted researcher and a prodigious mind who remained dedicated to the study of all things size and one who, I must admit, was singularly beautiful. Tall with striking dark red hair, a buxom figure and an infectious smile permanently glued to a cheery visage. All facts she was either unaware of or simply didn’t care. Not that I was one to complain mind you. In the days I’d spent seeing her, that beautiful face never failed to put my heart at ease. A genius was assuring; the fact she was a looker was a bonus.

Mind you, it obviously wasn’t her looks that drew me to the good Doctor. They certainly helped, but no. I was allured by the siren song of a possible cure for my ailment. She was at the head of an experimental treatment program for the very affliction I had. A program that needed volunteers; and as a desperate man who didn’t want to shrink away to nothing well...It was a pretty easy choice really. Now I sat in this room almost a full three weeks after signing up, ready to finally receive my first treatment. 

Before any of that though, there came one last preliminary screening. Once she was ready, Shouko leaned against the metallic examination table opposite me and eased me in with an apologetic smile. This was as tedious for her as it was for me, her eyes seemed to say. Adorning the table, I noted, were a number of tools. Many of which had very fine, narrow appendages. No doubt for handling particularly small subjects. They distracted me somewhat, my thoughts immediately picturing Shouko holding me up with a pair of forceps. It would’ve been amusing were it not a very real possibility. 

“Alright, ready?” Shouko asked. I nodded and the woman looked down, eyes narrowing ever so as she slipped into a professional mindset. “Any unusual symptoms? Fever, dizziness, anything like that?”

“No.”

“Have you taken any drugs I’m not aware of?”

“Can’t say that I have.”

The questions were all standard medical procedure. So routine that I could almost close my eyes and pretend this was an ordinary visit to any old doctor. They came at me fast and my answers bordered on automatic, Shouko and I both eager to get through it as swiftly as possible. Questions about my health, habits, if I’d noticed anything strange...Those sorts of things. All culminating in the final annoying question that was basically a lengthy legal spiel confirming that yes, I was aware this was an experimental treatment and adverse reactions were possible. Success was not a guarantee. Et cetera. Et cetera. All things I had heard before and at length. Thankfully, once I affirmed my intentions Shouko set her clipboard down, her smile saying we were both free at last. 

The busywork now behind her, Shouko made for the medical cabinets in the corner of the room. Opening one drawer, the woman grabbed an unused syringe as well as a litany of other simple items needed for giving an injection. Curiosity made me watch as she prepared it all and promptly reached into the pocket of her lab coat, fingers deftly avoiding a line of test tubes clipped in place. That had always struck me as an odd place to keep them; and more than once I wondered what was so important that she carried it on her person like that? Hardly my business in the end. More important was when her fingers emerged with a thin glass container in hand, orange liquid filling it. 

My potential cure. 

From then on my eyes remained firmly locked on the syringe. A measly little thing handled between Shouko’s fingers as the woman hummed a merry tune, but that innocuous object could very well save me. Nothing could distract me from that. Not even the occasional waggle of the doctor’s hips as she worked. I watched steadfast as she slotted the glass container into the syringe and fasted it in place, her movements suggesting this was far from the first time she had done it. Foolish as it might’ve been on my part, looking at that needle offered a sense of...Hope. 

“Last chance~” She said with a grin. “You ready?”

“Of course.” I replied without any hesitation.

Nothing would stop me now. Not when I had come this far. With my affirmation Shouko approached me with the needle at the ready. A hand gently lifted my arm and wiped at it with a damp tissue, fingers palpating along my skin. The needle’s tip almost seemed to shine under the fluorescent lights, bringing to mind my own aversion to needles. Rather than let it get me worked up I looked away...and right to a more dangerous distraction: the exposed and quite large pair of breasts dangling just below my chin. Courtesy of Shouko’s favorite open-cut orange top. It looked quite comfortable honestly. It just also meant I was quite regularly treated to a view most men would kill for. Jury was still out on if that was a blessing or a curse. 

Heat rushed to my cheeks as I became...intimately aware of just how close our bodies were. A fact Shouko herself remained blissfully ignorant of, as well as what her bending forward like this meant for what I could see. The heat radiating from her body. The gentle tickle of her breath against my skin. A faint scent of perfume in the air. All of it served to numb the mind and bring the hairs on the back of my neck on end. Every move Shouko made sent a ripple of bouncing, jiggling flesh that mesmerized as much as it enticed. Try as I might, I couldn’t look away, my heart beginning to pound as I forced my eyes shut. 

Focus on the shot. Focus on the shot. Focus. On. The. Shot

“Don’t forget to stay calm~”

There were a hundred reasons why that wasn’t as easy as it sounded, and I could see two of them now. Her teasing voice came across almost like a sultry whisper, sending a fresh tingle down my spine as I discreetly leaned back. Shouko, of course, moved in to compensate. The pounding in my chest only intensified, temptation warring with my rational senses. I took a deep breath and sighed, reminding myself that Shouko was my doctor. That I would never-

“Mn!”

Suddenly there was the pinch of something piercing my skin. With a slight wince my eyes opened and I turned, catching the syringe just as the last of its contents were emptied into my arm.

“All done!” Shouko beamed, pulling the needle out. “Not so bad huh?”

“Nope. Arm’s probably gonna be sore though.” I replied with a laugh, a sense of relief washing over me. Mostly because there was once again space between us. 

“That’s normal.” Shouko assured, setting the syringe aside and returning with gauze for my arm. 

I...wasn’t sure what I expected quite honestly. For what could be such a pivotal moment in my life it felt so...small. There was a bit of relief in that I suppose. As I drew in another deep breath and the good doctor applied a bandage, the tension of the moment seemed to fade away. Whether the treatment did anything or not, only time would tell. For now though, I’d done what I could. I could take pride in that. 

“So what now?” I asked. “Just wait for a few days and come back for a check up?”

“Well…” She began, pressing her glasses against the bridge of her nose. “In case there are any adverse reactions I’d rather keep you here for a few hours to be safe. If it seems like you’re stable then we can look into sending you home...”

Huh?

Shouko...was still talking. Her lips continued to move...but what came out was muffled and distant. Fading. Distorting even. While in its place a loud ringing started to dominate my senses. Was this because of the shot? Everything sounded like my ears were filled with cotton; and the heat. Was this room always so hot? Sweat started to line my brow as the incessant pounding in my chest began again in earnest. I reached up to wipe at the sweat, my face now numb as the world began to spin. Everything slowly warped into a dizzying array of shapes and colors, Shouko morphing into an alien form before my very eyes.

Wha...What is…?

“D-Doc…” I managed to stammer out. 

I lurched forward with my arms hanging uneasily in front of me while an intense feeling of vertigo rose from the depths of my gut. Every fiber of my being wanted to hurl, though I doubted I even had the strength for that much. The spinning began to ease up ever so slightly and I could start to make out my surroundings again. That was when I finally realized what was happening.

The world around me was growing. 

Each moment brought newfound clarity back to my vision and allowed me to drink in the growing space around me in vivid detail. The arms of my chair started to rise against my body while the walls of the room ascended higher and higher. The tables and cabinets, once comfortably shorter than I, now started to swell beyond my reach. My body found itself in a new spacious seat several sizes too large and with my legs dangling generously above the floor. Even the medical gown I wore now fell comfortably below my feet; and, with a trembling gaze, I looked to my side where my bracelet now sat on the cushion beside me. As large as a belt. 

A welling despair started to tease the edges of my thoughts. I knew damn well what this was even if my rationale abandoned me. The world hadn’t grown. I...I...shrank.

I shrank!

At barely the size of a toddler I looked with desperate, pleading eyes to the one person who could help - The one person who could explain. Who could tell me it would all be okay! The massive and towering woman who stopped what she was saying and looked to me in equal parts surprise, awe, and distress. Just as I looked to her like my would-be savior, Shouko brought a hand up to her messy head and cried out in anguish.

“Aw man, not again!” 

Again?” 

My mouth fell agape at her telling admission.  A sentence powerful enough that terror held my heart in a deadly vice as it thumped harder and louder than ever. I could only stare slack jawed at the looming figure before me in sheer disbelief. “What do you mean again?!” I barked. 

“There’s always a risk, but these reactions shouldn’t be happening. At least not this often.” She muttered with a groan. “Ugh...Okay…” Shouko let out a deep breath and schooled herself. “Listen. You need to stay calm. Any further agitation might-”

Calm?!” I shot to my feet atop my chair, not even rising past Shouko’s waist even with the booster. A duality of rage and fear overtook me, my voice rising to a feverish scream. “I’m the size of a damn baby! What did you do to me?! Fix it!” 

“I can’t! It’s irreversible I…”

She tried to explain. She genuinely did, but it was an explanation I didn’t want to hear. I wasn’t in the mood to listen about how I was stuck at this pathetic size. How I would spend the rest of my life at the size of an infant. My thoughts were clouded by raw emotion and I just wanted...something. I wanted to be told it could be fixed and undone. Now how screwed I was. Even if it was a gentle lie.

I took a step forward as though I could do anything at my newfound scale, briefly forgetting what I stood on. This wasn’t the floor. This was a chair; and as my foot moved forward it caught the thick folds of my oversized gown. As my foot hitched on my own clothes I stumbled and plummeted right to the floor several feet below. In an instant my adrenaline-fueled feelings rose to a new crescendo, and with it...Well...Shouko tried to warn me. 

Just as it had before, my world began to spin. A sickening lurch made me wrap my arms around myself as that same unpleasant feeling took hold. All around me the oversized clothing I wore grew exponentially, surrounding and dominating all my senses. The folds of my own gown became a pastel blue labyrinth with no clear way out. And I became little more than a pitiful, naked lump wriggling inside a discarded medical gown. As it, and by proxy I, landed I let out a pained grunt and blinked away dots from my vision.

It was a dark, dimly lit pit I now found myself in. Cloth walls barricaded the world on all sides and panic pushed me to my feet as I searched the darkness of my prison for an opening, flailing blindly until I spied a tunnel of blinding light. One that brought me back out into a far larger world than I ever dared imagine. Even in my worst nightmares.

As I crawled lout, filling my peripheral were two unidentifiable brown walls. Or more accurately...I knew what they were instantly. I just couldn’t begin to reconcile what they really were in relation to myself. They were simply too large. They surrounded me, oddly shaped and with dozens of minor scuff marks along the bottom. Each rose over twice my height and went on for well over thirty feet ahead of me. I stared numbly at them, stunned as some part of me began to process what I was looking at. 

Flats. 

That’s all they were. Just a measly pair of simple, well-worn shoes. Both spanning many times my size. Finally realizing what they were, I understood what it meant. Both for me and...the one who wore those shoes. Everything went deathly silent then; I didn’t dare look and yet my eyes couldn’t help but drift upward. Past the stocking-covered ankles, up along the towering pillars that were her legs and even through the taut thighs that vanished into an ebony short skirt. Legs. They were just legs I had to remind myself. Something so ordinary and mundane had become something alien and powerful through sheer scale. A feeling I got as I slowly took in the rest of this woman. 

A mere woman and yet every fiber of my being told me she was something else. Something...more. Infinitely beyond me now and forever. Shouko towered higher than the tallest buildings, her shadow an endless web that I was now trapped in. She stared at me with a frustrated look while I stared back in abject awe. Then when she spoke it was with a voice I could only vaguely recognize. It bore an added weight and gravitas that wasn’t there before, echoing from on high as it further hammered in the differences between us. All from nothing but sheer scale.

“Well there goes another one.” Shouko sighed with what I took to be disappointment. 

A thousand thoughts ran through my head. Trying to cope with the situation. Trying to discern what I could do about it. What Shouko could do about it to help me. What this meant for my job, my family, my life. The problem of my reduction was a vast sprawling wall and my thoughts were a pathetic infantry trying to breach past it - And failing. All fell into the background as a simple look from Shouko was enough to paralyze me. Her words brought with them a crystal clear revelation. One I couldn’t ignore any longer.

She had done this before. 

I...wasn’t the first to dwindle like this…

Once that finally clicked any hope for my staying rational was thoroughly dashed. Practically crushed like an insect under Shouko’s foot. A tsunami of potent feelings filled the void within me. Rage. Despair. Fear. Frustration. All of it came pouring out as I screamed all manner of terrible things to the face in the sky. I called the woman a demon, cursed at her, begged her to change me back. Anything and everything one could imagine in such a situation I said; and Shouko…She didn’t so much as bat an eye. 

While I tore into her with more fury than I had ever shown anyone in my life, she looked the same as she always had. A casual, relaxed demeanor that seemed almost frightening considering what had happened. The giant sheepishly rubbed at her head while staring at me, grumbling like she’d spilled some coffee and not bore witness to a person shrinking in front of her. There was something deeply unsettling about that. A chilling idea that began to dawn on me as I screamed and screamed and came to realize not only did Shouko not hear me. I…

I don’t think she even cared. 

“Well #214…” She boomed with a voice that cut through my own. “I’m sorry this happened, but now that you’re like this there’s no way to reverse it.” It was said with such an idle, matter of fact tone that I was blindsided. No fervent apologies or begging for forgiveness. Just a sorry with the same tone she had when reading off boring questions from her clipboard. Even her apology was just a formality. A formality she had likely offered to countless others, and she was already seamlessly moving on.

Shouko started saying...A lot, quite frankly. All delivered with flowery scientific words and a sense of professionalism, but that didn’t change what she was telling me. I was stuck like this for the rest of my life. There was no cure. My body had changed in a way that could not be reversed; and as such I was…

“...Strictly speaking you can’t really be considered a human anymore…”

She said as much herself. Bluntly. Like ripping off a bandaid. I was no longer a person. Not to the world and certainly not to this doctor. I was just another specimen. A number. Perhaps even the 214th person to shrink for her. 

As though it made it all better, Shouko beamed down at me with a broad grin. “With luck though, maybe you can help me find a cure so nobody else has to shrink!” 

If that was her attempt to offer me some sort of comfort then it was a particularly bad one. Words escaped me. Hell, thoughts escaped me. I could only stare in dumbfounded silence as Shouko returned to her clipboard and began to scribble away at it, mouthing words silently as she did. 

“Treatment...Failed.” 

More was said under her breath and more was even written, all of it falling upon tiny deaf ears. With two words she had gutted me and left a hollow husk of a man. Even my anger left me as I was left in awe of her sheer audacity. In time she finished her notes and refocused on me, one hand resting comfortably on her hip as she leaned forward.. “I know this is a lot to take in, but I promise I’ll take good care of you. Just hold still so I can bring you to the storage area with the rest, okay?” 

Before I could begin to grapple with the infinite implications of that statement, Shouko began to reach for me. The very hand that had given me the treatment now grasped at the air as it came down, each finger larger than my body by a considerable margin. It would only take a few seconds to reach me and once it had there would be nothing I could do to stop it. I would become yet another number in Shouko’s collection of specimens. What that meant for me or my future I didn’t know. There was only one thing I knew for certain:

I wanted to get as far away from this person as possible.

“Wha- Hey!”

My sudden dash caught the doctor by surprise. Just as her fingers lazily reached for me, I blitzed past them and darted between her legs as fast as I could. Never had I run so quickly, but it was still only the beginning. Shouko turned her head, crimson eyes tracing me as she nearly stumbled in her shock. Fortunate for me that she managed to steady herself with her hands, lest she fall and crush me by accident. I intrinsically knew those precious few seconds were the only lead I’d get on her. This was my one and only chance and you had best believe I was going as far as my shrunken legs could take me. 

“And just where do you think you’re going?” Shouko thundered as she rose to her feet. The female goliath soared seemingly taller than ever and her shadow stretched on well ahead of where I was. While yes, I fled with everything I could muster, that meant next to nothing when pitted against a giant. She didn’t even need to rush when slow and meaningful steps were more than enough. Each footfall pounded at the tiled floors with the sound and impact of an explosion, urging me hurry all the more. I was almost at the door! If I could only just-!

THOOOM~!

Before I could even begin to delude myself, Shouko’s foot cut me off, my tiny form screeching to a stop before her almighty shoe. 

“Please don’t make this any more difficult than it needs to be #214.” Shouko intoned. “I get this new height is scary, but what do you think is waiting for you out there? In case you forgot, the rest of the world is as big as I am.” She chuckled in the manner of an adult lecturing a naive child. Like I was the unreasonable one here!

Logic, however, had no place in my world now. She may have had a point. Hell she might’ve even been right, but I was in no state to think like that. I was little more than a bundle of nerves and torrential emotions, already pivoting on my feet to run in the opposite direction. Anything to get away from her. To that, Shouko simply rolled her eyes and watched. 

“You’re not going anywhere.” The woman said after a few moments, offering the laziest pursuit imaginable. “You could be the fastest little guy in the world, and you know how long it’d take me to catch up?”

THOOOOOOM~!

“Just one step.”

I almost detected a shred of smug satisfaction in how easy that was for her. One step was enough to barricade my path with her foot. Though I’d already turned to make another mad dash, this time the good doctor was done toying with me. Her hand snaked down faster than a train and a pair of pale digits pinched my body from the sides. I squirmed and struggled with feet kicking against open air; and yet despite everything I had I couldn’t so much as budge the fingers surrounding me. In seconds I was lifted over a hundred stories, my struggles ending as I looked down and saw a building’s worth of space between me and the ground.

“Get it now?” Shouko asked with a smirk, fingers deftly slotting me into her palm. “This is why I need to take care of you. You’re too small to do anything.”

That smile was so adorable not that long ago. Now it only sent chills down my spine as the woman’s voice dominated my senses. By comparison, my own voice came out meek and frightened, barely discernible as I crawled back against the soft stretch of hand beneath me. Little good that it did. My world began and ended within this woman’s grasp. 

“Y-You can’t do this…!” I cried. 

“Why not? You’re S.T.U. property now #214.”

“My name is Derek!”

“Your name was Derek.”

“I’m a person dammit! You can’t just kidnap me!” I screamed. 

“If you were a person then yeah, I couldn’t.” Shouko acknowledged. “But the sad truth is you aren’t anymore. I know that’s hard to hear, but it’s the truth. Like I told you, when you’re reduced your physiology changes and that change can’t be undone.” She explained with a strictly clinical tone. “Besides...People aren’t smaller than my fingers.” The woman added like it was common sense.

I...had no rebuttal for that. What does one say to a woman who casually informed you that you weren’t a person anymore? Not just once, but twice?

“It’s not like it’s all bad.” Shouko was quick to assure. A prodding finger from her free hand came in to try and calm me down with a few affectionate pats. Though the woman had no way of knowing how overwhelming her strength was now; that sweet gesture was more than enough to overpower and press me into the folds of her skin. “I’ll take good care of you like I do all my specimens. Just you wait!  I made this cute little city for you guys. I even have one at home! There I make sure to feed you things you can still eat and…!”

A Pet. She was describing a pet. 

The gigantic redhead went on with a goofy, enthusiastic smile about all the things she could and would do for me. She had a well-thought system in place and would see to all my needs while continuing her research. Arguably her way of trying to put me at ease; though it all amounted to the same thing. My life...would not be mine anymore. It would be Shouko’s. I would wake up when she wanted me to. I would eat when she wanted me to. I would do what she wanted me to. It was a subservient existent entirely dependent on her. My rights. My independence. None if it seemed to matter to her now. That was all I could hear as she gushed on and on about this new life she had laid out. 

Shouko could offer all the honeyed words she wanted. Maybe she even believed them. That didn’t change what it was; nor the thought that sent a quiet chill down my spine. The idea that behind that beautiful face and friendly smile was a woman who was far more aware of all of this then she was admitting - And she relished this power she now had.

Honestly, I couldn’t tell which was more frightening. Blissful Ignorance or Active Malice. 

“...So anyway. Once you’re processed and branded I can bring you into the containment area and from there you can start your new life! Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”

“No-”

“Great!” Shouko cheered, her voice naturally overriding my own. “Now, I’ve got a few more patients to see before I’ll have time to process and document you. Hope you don’t mind waiting a bit!”

It wasn’t as though I had a say in the matter. While I naturally began to voice my concerns and many, many emotional grievances, Shouko was already closing her fist. Her fingers fell upon me like a curtain, trapping me in the dark, fleshy embrace once more as she brought her hand down. Down to where her ears could no longer hear my pleas and where the yawning entrance to her lab coat pocket was fast approaching. Towards the test tubes clipped neatly into place against pristine white fabric. Where I could now see their contents in clear, horrific detail.

People.

The test tubes were...filled with people. Some larger than I and others somehow even smaller. A handful of them spread throughout the different glass containers and arranged by size. At the largest end was a woman inches tall and virtually filling her prison by herself; while at the opposite extreme were over a dozen specks who fit comfortably at the base of their test tube. All of them wore the same mixture of frightened, defeated, and confused looks. Just like me, one who appeared to fit neatly in the middle of the spectrum. At the sight of Shouko’s fingers they all recoiled fearfully, the giant herself casually depositing me into one of the glass prisons. 

From there I fell for over a dozen feet and slid against the clear walls, soon crashing unceremoniously on top of a pair of shrunken individuals. There was nowhere for them to run as I came upon them, all of us letting out pained grunts and gasps upon impact. What limited space we were allotted had us all pressed firmly into one another in an awkward struggle to untangle ourselves; while up above Shouko’s hand already departed to the outside world. Leaving us all trapped within the depths of her pocket. 

A fresh terror seized me once again as I finally managed to stand and smacked my fists against the glass, pitiful voice screaming to be set free. For someone, anyone to help. This wasn’t right! She couldn’t just do this. I’m a person! I have a name! I’m not just a damn number! 

My fellow captives more or less did the same. One seemed resigned and broken while the other was emboldened by my energy. Our cries joined the myriad of others from those in the next test tube over. As well as the one beyond that. Dozens of voices in a miniscule chorus pleading for rescue. Those like me who refused to become mere numbers in a collection.

Of course, the saddest part was that nothing we said or did could change anything. I screamed until my throat was raw and I doubted she heard so much as a peep. Deep down inside I knew - I think we all did - That it was already over. We crossed the point of no return the second we shrank and had the misfortune to be found by Shouko. To stop our defiance was to accept that, and as such we kept going. If we stopped, she won. Though as tears began to water the edges of my eyes I already knew this was over. I had lost...Everything.

Whatever she was doing, Shouko was in a world beyond us now. A world we were no longer a part of. She continued to go about her day, talking, having fun, making dumb jokes, little slip ups. The same woman she always was like nothing ever happened. For almost an hour it went on, all of us a captive audience to the going ons of Shouko’s work life. Each step she took made our world sway and occasionally smack into the sides of her hips. Even then we never so got so much as an apology or a hint of acknowledgement from the red-haired giant.

Eventually, just when I thought all the fight had left me, she stopped and spoke again, her words echoing like that of a god and rendering us all silent.

“Let’s see here...Subject #215...Emilia?”

“Yes, that’s me.” Came another rumbling voice from a giant.

“Oh no…” I muttered, my throat raw. Remembering my own situation, I stood and banged my fists against the glass with a newfound resolve. A fresh reason to try and get the attention of the outside world. “Don’t! Get away from her while you still can!”

Others joined me. A horde of people trying to warn those blissfully unaware of what could happen. Just as they’d undoubtedly tried to warn me; and as we’d undoubtedly try to warn the next person. Voices lost to the void of a world meant for giants.

“Sorry I kept you waiting. You would not believe how busy I’ve been today!” Shouko laughed. “So...Today’s the big day huh?”

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