The four of them had nearly forgotten about the dangers of the normal-sized folks, by this time. They hadn't seen a normal-sized person since their encounter with Masako. They knew, mentally and from memory, that they were tiny and a lot of others were not, but that mage's presence caught them completely off-guard. Class had finally let out, and was coming straight for the tree they were about to climb. A complete fluke of coincidence was throwing them into a deadly encounter, and all they could do was turn and run at the last minute, hoping they could make it to the tree in time. They had to make it in time.

They were still a fair amount of area away from the tree's base, at the time. Their conversation had lasted longer than they expected and put them in danger. In a full-on run, they were hopeful that they would be able to make it back there in time. They were kidding themselves, unfortunately. They'd become too safe, mentally, and put themselves in this mess. Upon starting their run, the girl's shadow was already over them, the rippling waves of her robes towering into the sky, near infinitely to them.

They were kidding themselves, though. They'd already gotten caught in her shadow, and they didn't have anywhere near enough time to reach the tree's base before her foot would come crashing down, smashing them all out of existence. Their hearts were racing as they sprinted across the area. They could make it...they could make it. They could make it. As their hearts were trying to bring in more faith in their venture, sweat was dripping down all three of their foreheads. Hitoshi, Tarou, and Sei were running across the area, not realizing that Izoku had stopped.

A loud sound occurred behind them. The shadow around them, as enormous as it was, got smaller as Shiori's foot came down. They all jumped and flinched, expecting to be instantly crushed under the girl's shoe. They screamed, hitting the dirt, sliding a little, waiting for the end to come. It never did, though. Several seconds went by and nothing happened. It was all very confusing. Hitoshi looked up, seeing that the shadow was still all around them. Shiori was holding her foot up or something? Had she seen her? They all got up and turned, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets at what they saw.

Behind them, proving the full extent of the power his body held in his body, was Izoku. He had stopped and started a completely insane maneuver. Shiori's foot was trying to come down and, with his arms, he was shoving up against the tread of them, holding it in the air, keeping it from crushing them. The very idea of a person so small being able to hold up a large object was a feat in itself, but being able to stop a foot and hold it up, all by himself was absolutely miraculous. “Izoku!” screamed Hitoshi, looking back at him.

Izoku wasn't doing this easily, though. He was flinching and sweat was running down his entire face. His arms were shaking as he looked back at them and ordered them off. “Get...out of here...now! Get to the tree!” He wanted them to leave him to face off with Shiori's boot all alone. He was clearly having problems. Was there anything they could do? “We can't just leave you here!” called Tarou, concerned for his new comrade. There had to be something the three of them could do to help him. If he couldn't hold it, he'd surely be crushed, from under it.

“Yes, you can...If you do not get out from under this shoe, we will ALL be crushed...I...I can't hold it forever!” He really want them to leave him. Sei shook his head, refusing to go anywhere, so long as he could help. “No! We have to do this together. You're the best we have, Izoku. You are NOT gonna die for us!” Izoku's grip was getting worse. His legs were starting to shake at this point as well as she tried to keep conversing with them until he could convince them to go. “Who said...anything about dying?! I've gotten out of worse pickles than this. I'll catch...up with you! This is not the end. I'll catch up. Now...GO!”

Hitoshi was finally starting to catch onto things. Izoku's grip was getting worse and he'd be able to get out of the way. Surely, he would. If he was strong enough to hold up a giant foot, then surely he'd be able to get out of being crushed by it. “Guys, we need to move!” Tarou whipped his head around, looking at him. “But...Hitoshi!” Hitoshi had to be their leader, and look out for them. “If he says he'll catch up, then he will! Come on! MOVE!” He didn't have time to argue with them, right then. He was responsible for making sure they were safe, and he needed to follow Izoku's advice.

The three of them ran together and lunged at the very base of the tree, just as Shiori's foot came down. They were caught off-balance by a massive shockwave behind them. They landed with a thud and all looked back. Shiori's body was standing in front of the tree. They looked around her feet, and saw no sign of Izoku. Sei turned his head down, thinking. “Izoku-san...” Tarou soon joined him, looking down as well. “Did we...do the right thing just now?” Hitoshi joined them as well. He had to be able to calm them. “There was nothing else we could do. We have to trust him.”

“Dammit, Shiori!” screamed Sei, pounding his shoe into the dirt. “Why can't you mage girls ever pay attention to where you walk?! Dammit!” Tarou shook his head at Sei's frustration. He shared it, but knew he was blaming the wrong element. “Shiori isn't to blame, Sei. Masako is responsible for both Izoku and ourselves being in this situation. Reserve your anger for her.” Sei wasn't letting go, though. They didn't see Izoku anywhere. “But...what if Izoku...” He was saying what all of them were thinking, on some level.

“That's enough!” said Hitoshi. “Izoku-san said he would catch up with us. He will! He...He has to...” Tarou wanted to help calm the situation as well. “Please...No matter what happens, from now on, Izoku entrusted us to move forward. He did what he did so the three of us could carry out that task.” This was enough to calm Sei down. He looked up and got a grin on his face, for once. “...I guess you're right. That guy was way too tough to be taken out by some girl's foot...” Hitoshi agreed. He turned as he made one final statement. “We will see him again. I know we will. Right now, though, we have a tree to climb!”

The three of them then turned towards Zuika's Tree and headed towards it, a crystal shard to obtain...