"You sure this is the place?" Keith asked looking at the building. It looked like a normal two-story building in the heart of Shibuya. "She's here Keith. My scrying places her here" Susan said. "Strange. This isn't the Ministry of National Affairs" he said. Susan and Fiona looked puzzled. "Last time I was here, Hikari had a kind of embassy out of the division. This is not it" he explained. "Let's just take a look dad?" Hope asked tugging on his hand. Keith shrugged and walked into the building lobby. They were immediately stopped by security.  "This...not...tourist place" one said in broken English. "We're not tourists. We're here to see Hikari" Susan said in fluent Japanese.  Security looked at them oddly.

A man, a teenage girl, and two women, one of them ready to give birth any day. That and being foreign didn't dissuade their skepticism. "Nobody here by that name" one replied. "You are lying" Susan said after sniffing him. "Hikari knows me. Please step aside and direct me to her" Keith said walking close to him. "Leave foreigner" he said gripping his shoulder. Susan went to stop him until Keith motioned not to. "If you decide this is what you want, I will dishonor you in front of your friends. One way or another I will see her" he warned. His two friends stepped forward. "Hard way it is" he muttered. Keith gripped the wrist of the man holding him and sneezed hard making him cry out in pain. He stepped back and his friend came in with a nightstick. Keith grabbed it mid swing, yanked it out of his hand and snapped it easily. Keith spotted the third reaching for a revolver. "STOP!" someone yelled. Keith and the group turned to see a young woman walking quickly to them. On her shoulder was a tiny young woman.

"Enough. Back to your posts" the small one commanded. "But we know nothing of him!" the one nursing his wrist said. "I do. If he so wished, he could've killed all three of you within seconds. Forgive them. They are...dutiful to a fault. Please come with me" the small one said. The group followed them to an elevator. "You said you know me?" Keith asked. "The Princess said to expect you. It's a pleasure to meet you Keith-san" she said bowing while holding onto the black hair of the giantess she was perched on. Keith returned the gesture as the elevator dinged on the lower level. They were led to a room under guard. They took notice of the group, but the small woman waved them off.  They entered to find a familiar koonago in a hospital bed her scale sitting on top of a moving table.  

"Jesus! Hikari what happened?" Keith asked getting close. "Chisame. Please leave me with him. I wish to be alone" Hikari said softly. "It's okay. Wait outside" Keith said. Keith watched them leave. "Are they gone?" she asked. Keith nodded. The koonago broke into sobs. Keith sat in a chair near her and went to pet her only to find most of her body in bandages and a back brace. "I felt you call out to me. What happened?" he asked. "She came back. The other Susan" Hikari replied. "She did this?" Keith asked. "She's different now. Some kind of power in her. A young man was with her. They tore my security apart. Crushed and devoured them" she replied. It had not occurred to him that the mirror Susan could have the same powers as his Susan. Made sense as they had the same DNA. "They left me alive to give you a message. They said you "crossed the Rubicon". What....what does that mean?" she asked. "When Caesar chose to control Rome, he marched an army to it. The senators knew of it and told him if he crossed the Rubicon river, the boundary between Rome and its provinces, there would be no going back."

"What they meant in that message is there will be no terms of surrender. They're all in concerning destroying us. Did the young man tell you who he was?" Keith asked. "She called him Ophiuchus" she replied. "The 13th ZODIAC" he muttered. He looked her over. "How bad?" he asked. "Skull fracture, three ribs broken, left leg shattered. My spine was snapped, the discs shattered. Most of my injuries are healed but my spine..." she said before drifting off. Keith pulled her sheets back. His fingernail found her tiny bare sole and he raked it up. Nothing. Her toes didn't so much as clench. "I didn't feel it at all" she muttered. "Just a few more healing spells..."

"The damage is too extensive. Since you are here and I have done my duties...there is another matter to speak about. You have heard of seppuku correct?" she asked. "Yeah I've read about...now hold on a minute!" he yelled. "The koonago have a similar custom but it differs. When a koonago is gravely injured and cannot be healed, we perform a ritual suicide. They are taken outside the safety of the village and left to be eaten by wild animals. A way to pay back what nature gave us in life. In my case I have chosen different. You will eat me. I will be bathed and prepared. My last instructions written out for my mother and our son when he comes of age. As for Yuusha our son...please take him into your household officially. He will...need..." she said shaking.

"So what? You get prepared like fucking sushi?" Keith asked angry. "It is my last wish" she said. "Fuck your wish! I have enough stains on my soul! Hope get in here!" Keith yelled. Hope entered. "My daughter is the best healer on earth. She can help you" he said. Hope looked at her father who was literally red in the face. She could sense his outrage. Hope took his seat. Her finger traced the half-naked body of the koonago Princess. "She's really hurt bad dad" she said. "Yeah but you can fix her" he said. She looked at him odd. "The smaller stuff no problem. Her back is another matter. It's like someone took a sledgehammer to it" she said. "I saw you reconstruct Richie from a mass of pulped meat! I know you can do this!" he yelled. "It's not that easy dad! Back then I didn't have to tiptoe around shock, blood pressure, heart attack, stroke...."

"He was dead. None of that stuff mattered. This here is delicate, like house of cards delicate. Each disc is the size of a sesame seed. I'm not all powerful like you think I am!" Hope yelled. Hope sat there crying. "Sorry for pushing you too hard" he muttered. "I... I can try dad, but I can't guarantee anything. I really don't want to hurt aunt Hikari" she said. "Please" Keith said. Hikari felt ashamed that this girl who she barely knew cared more for her life than she did. "I understand" he muttered. Hikari yelped in pain as the girl forced her onto her stomach. "You should leave the room dad. While I said I don't want to hurt her, this is going to be very painful" she said. "What about you?" Keith asked. "I'll deal. I'm my father's daughter" she said softly. "Please leave beloved. I do not wish for you to hear me scream" Hikari said quietly. Keith nodded solemnly and went outside. "Not that he's gone we can begin" Hope said. She pulled away the cast around her back and abdomen with her fingernails. Her back was severely bruised and swollen. "Try to think of a happy place" Hope said as she placed her fingertip on her back.

She concentrated feeling the damage. She sensed the pulverized discs. Shards of bone embedded in muscle and tissue. Her spinal cord crushed. The process would begin with pulling the shards back together like a jigsaw puzzle and essentially recasting the bone discs. An arduous task that would be painful like nothing imagined in her over a century and a half life. Hope shrank down and sat right next to Hikari. Hope stroked Hikari's hair which made the koonago frightened. She placed her finger on her back and began dragging the first fleck of bone. Hikari went rigid and bit her lip as it felt as if a needle was being yanked through her back. Then it stopped. "One down, 173 to go" Hope muttered.

"Got someplace I can relax?" Keith muttered as his borrower hearing picked up Hikari whimpering. "Of course. We have a reception room right down the hallway. Please follow me and Ryoko" Chisame said. They were led into a room with a traditional tatami mat floor, a low table, and a flatscreen tv on the wall. Chisame was placed on the table and slipped her heels off. By courtesy and respect, Keith, Fiona, and Susan took off their shoes before entering. "Some tea for our guests please" Chisame said to her human sized friend. The others sat at the table. "My daughter is trying to heal her as I refused to..." Keith said before stopping himself out of annoyance.

"Eat her alive?" Chisame finished. "So you do know!" Keith yelled. Susan and Fiona looked on in shock. "Well, I would be the one to prepare her and carry out her last wishes for the koonago" Chisame said. "I'm not harping on your culture but that's insane" Keith said. "Oh, that's not my culture. I maybe small like them but I’m 100% human" she said. "Wait. So you're fine being shrunk?" Susan asked. "Well the spell isn't permanent, and it does let me see the world from a different view. I'm not crazy about cats anymore" she smirked. Keith leaned in close. "Keith cut out!" Susan said. "Sorry but the last helper she had turned out to be a Mogwai" he said coldly. "Well I'm not. Born human, went to human schools. Was scouted for my knowledge in folklore and passed psych evals" she said quietly. "Psych evals?" Fiona asked.

"Everyone here has to pass certain tests. The main one is the treatment of tiny folk. You're not told beforehand about them for starters. You're placed in a room where a koonago enters. They beg you to save them as they say they were kidnapped and brought here. If you agree a person comes in and offers a... ahem...shitload of yen for you to keep quiet" she said. "And if you refuse you pass?" Fiona asked. Chisame nodded. "Isn't that dangerous for the koonago in the room?" Keith asked. "They make sure the koonago is a trained Mage than can protect themselves just in case" she replied. "But still" Susan said. "All I can tell you is that it works. No losses even with a failure rate of 74%" she said. "And the girl that you ride on. You're okay with trusting her?" Keith asked.

"Ryoko? She's harmless. Poor girl is mute, so she uses her phone to speak. Truthfully, it's comforting to place one's safety in the hands of someone 200x your size. That kind of trust is rare these days. Ah, just talking about you" Chisame said as the young woman returned with a tea tray. She typed on her phone "only good things I hope". "Yeah silly" Chisame chuckled. Ryoko placed the cups before them and poured tea in each one. Susan sipped her tea and paused. There was an odd scent in the air. It came from Ryoko or more precisely her nylon clad feet. Now one of the things Susan had to deal with having a very strong sense of smell was sweaty feet. Airport security checks, people wearing leather shoes, sandals, even something as simple as shoe play sitting down. She had gotten good at screening it out of her mind. In Ryoko's case, she could smell foot sweat and nylon but there was something else...something chemical.

Susan turned all her attention on her as she walked by. Another scent. Alkaline in nature and faint. Ryoko bent down and poured Keith his tea. She stood back up, reached into her pocket and held something as her hand came down towards the back of his neck. "KEITH!" she yelled throwing her teacup at her face. It smashed on her head throwing her to the floor. "RYOKO!" Chisame yelled standing up. By this point, Keith had her pinned on the floor. "Susan some help!" he yelled. Susan rushed over and put her finger on the struggling woman. Instantly she began shrinking to a far more manageable size. "Please don't hurt her!" Chisame said as Keith held Ryoko in his fist. "Check her right foot! Something isn't right there!" Susan said. Keith pinned the shrunken girl down on the table with his middle finger. His index pinned her right leg. With his free hand, he tore her nylons away revealing her thin small bare legs and feet. Keith looked closely at the right leg and foot as the shrunken girl thrashed and yelled silently. "The hell?!" Keith said noticing something.

On her tiny bare sole was drawn an arcane. He was close enough to smell her little feet but most importantly the inky chemical residue. He dipped his finger in a cup of tea and began rubbing the ink off her foot. Ryoko went into a fugue state as soon as it came off. Keith released her. "Ryoko..." Chisame said walking over to her. Keith sighed watching the two shrunken women hugging it out on the table. "What...what happened? Why did you do such a thing?" Chisame asked her. "Wasn't her fault. Somebody took a magic marker and drew a mind controlling arcane on the sole of her foot" he said. "This is fugu (Japanese blowfish) toxin on the tip of this needle. One good stab in the brain stem and you'd been dead before you hit the floor. The toxin would've necrotized it. No healing spell would've saved you" Susan said studying the needle. "Who did this?" Chisame asked Ryoko. The girl shook her head as she cried. "I don't even remember it being done" she typed on her phone. "We know who did this" Keith muttered. "Ryoko. Can Susan look into your mind? We need to see what happened" Keith asked. Ryoko looked at Chisame frightened.

"Will this hurt her?" she asked worried. "As long as you keep your mind clear it won't" Susan said. Ryoko nodded. Susan sat at the table and placed the girl in her hand. She was trembling. "It's going to be okay" Susan whispered petting her. Her eye changed as she drew on her power. "Synchronizing brainwaves. Isolating chemical bonds for the last 6 hours. Lemurian mind spell level one. Recollection" she muttered. Susan saw her memories as if they were hers. She had showered, ate breakfast, and suddenly got a call that she needed to report to the ministry immediately. Before she could leave, there was a knock on her door. She opened it and was shoved backwards by a man she never seen before. He didn't bother to cover her mouth. He pinned her down by roughly sitting on her chest and yanked her right leg up.  She punched and scratched his back as she felt something on her sole. Then...an odd calm rushed over her as he got up. The man sent her a text and handed her a small box before leaving.

She opened The box to find the needle and her phone had the picture of Keith and the simple instruction to stab him at the base of the skull. Susan cut the connection. "You remember now don't you?" she asked. The girl curled into a ball and cried as she nodded. Suddenly, she froze. "I... I know him. The one that did this" she said typing it out as Susan placed her back on the table. "You do?!" Chisame asked. "It's why I opened the door. It's Osamu from maintenance" Ryoko said. Chisame called for a small security team to come to the room. "Bring Osamu-san from maintenance here" she ordered coldly. Less than five minutes later, a middle-aged man sweating profusely was pushed into the room. "Sit" Chisame said. The man did and Ryoko hid behind the girl. Chisame put her fingers together oddly and chanted in ancient Japanese. Instantly the man shrunk where he sat and was placed on the table. Chisame had the guards leave. Keith and the others were shocked to see the girl use magic.

"Do you know why you are here?" she asked. He looked at the cowering Ryoko. Understandably frightened of the man who attacked her, she did not meet his gaze. "...yes" he replied. "Why?" Chisame asked. "A man came to my home very early this morning. He did something to me stopping me from moving. He went into my home and returned with my wife and daughter shrunken and in his hands. He told me if I didn't attack Ageha-san (Ryoko) and draw this exact symbol on her foot, he would kill them" he said softly. "This man describe him" she said. "Young foreigner about 18 or 19 with black hair and amber eyes. Tan skinned" he replied. "That matches the description the princess gave" Chisame said. "I didn't wish to do it! My family is everything to me! Forgiveness please!" he said bowing until his head rested on the table. Ryoko didn't fear him anymore.  "Do you have a picture of them?" Susan asked. Chisame had him answer. Susan shrank down and hopped the table. The man and Chisame were shocked to see her using magic without incantation or symbols.

"They're cute" she said looking at his phone. A 29-year-old woman and 8-year-old girl smiling with him at a theme park. "Chisame can you give me a map of the city. I can see if they're alright" she said. Chisame used google image to pull up Tokyo. "We can see if he kidnapped them and if they're alright" she explained. She began scrying for the wife first as such magic was specific. Her pendulum never moved. Susan looked at Keith and Fiona. "What? What's wrong?" Osamu asked. "...she's dead" Susan said softly. Susan tried for his daughter and the pendulum swung out hard. She minimized the map smaller and smaller until she got a hit. "Your daughter is alive. I can tell you that" Susan said. The man sat there broken. "Where is she?" Chisame asked. "Oddly enough, moving very fast towards...Kyoto" she replied. "Anything related to magic there?" Keith asked. "Yes. There's shrines and onmyoji but nothing like the Ministry of Magic. Not even close" Chisame said puzzled. "What about him?" Fiona asked.

Chisame released the magic spell keeping him small after being taken off the table. "My child?" he asked looking at the shrunken woman helplessly. "Is probably on a bullet train" Chisame said. "Can you translocate Susan?" Keith asked. "Not a chance. Target is crap and I can do 500 ft. at best. I'm getting good but not that good" she replied. "Hope?" Fiona asked. "Hope is occupied" Keith said. "I'll book a ticket for Kyoto. Osamu...we need to place you in custody for now. Go with our guards" she said. The man solemnly stood up and left the room. "How are you casting magic like that?" Keith asked wary. Chisame snapped her fingers. Instantly, ofuda (paper talismans) appeared on the walls, and a large star on the floor. "Thought this room is for guests, it's also the most fortified barring the actual VIP area. If I so wished it, I could shrink someone to the size of a flea in here with the onmyoji power surrounding us" she replied.

There was a nervous pause. "Ahem. If one would be so kind to place Ryoko on the floor?" she said. Fiona placed her on the floor and Chisame grew her back to normal. "I need to make a few calls" she said as she was taken out the room. "Excuse me" Keith said leaving seconds later. "Never boring with you around" Fiona quipped. "I try to keep it interesting. You should go back to the hotel" she said. "I will in Kyoto" she replied. Susan shot her a look. "I'm pregnant not disabled" Fiona said. Susan sighed and sipped her tea. She glanced at Fiona's belly. "What does it feel like?" Susan asked. "There's no comparison I could make. A life growing inside me. A life that shares my blood and that of my mate. My body getting ready for it. Lactating, sweaty feet. Raging libido" Fiona chuckled. "You could try again" she said softly. "Maybe when all this is over, I could give Ruby a sibling" Susan said. "And the mate you choose?" Fiona asked. Susan didn't answer.

"Aww don't do that. We both know you want the boss" she said. "So do you" Susan whispered. "And your point? He's got to be good in bed. While we were there, I could hear Lawan moaning at night. I don't speak Thai but I'm sure she said something along the lines of "fuck me harder" Fiona chuckled. "Just drop it" Susan hissed before leaving the room. She made her way back to where Hikari was staying and saw Keith in the room with her alone. "You should see me this way" she said. "Don't be like that. This is me" Keith said looking at her twitching tiny body. "Is it working?" he asked. She didn't answer. Keith petted her bare ass. "Nothing but pain" she muttered. His fingertip gently held her hand. He bent down and she turned her face away. "I can't kiss my princess?" he asked. "What kind of princess lies naked on a table crippled below her waist?" she asked. "The kind of princess still loved by her people" he replied. "A sentiment that does nothing for the situation" she said.

"You once told me you looked after a shrunken girl dying of radiation sickness. Did her life lose meaning for you?" he asked. "Of course not" she replied. "Then why would your life lose meaning for me or people like Chisame?" he asked. She turned her head to look at him. Once she did he stole a kiss. "So much pain" she whimpered. "Life is pain my pretty koonago but we can grow from pain. I know my daughter. She'll heal you because she hates to lose. Gets that from daddy" he chuckled. "How arrogant to think a commoner can teach royalty" she chuckled. "You want arrogant? This lowly commoner (after you're better) is going to make you his sex toy for one night. And once I'm done, well sleep in the same bed alongside our son. I'm not so dense not to know what you wish for Hikari-chan" he whispered. "Hope is letting me take a break. Please ask her to return. I want that night to come" she said with a regal tone. He kissed her once again. "At once my princess" he whispered. He left the room. "Susan?" he asked seeing her. "Just getting some air" Susan smiled. Keith shrugged and went down the hallway.

Not long after, the group, minus Hope but now including Chisame who was human sized for the moment, was getting into taxis for the train station. "I take it Ryoko isn't coming?" Susan asked. "No, she is...resting. Pardon me. I've been shrunk for weeks. It's a little weird being human sized again" she said looking at things. "Our luggage" Susan said. "Will be waiting at the station" Chisame said. "That's efficient" Keith said. "We pride ourselves on it" she muttered looking at her phone. "It's vexing. What would two powerful beings want in Kyoto?" she asked. "It's never straightforward with these guys" Susan said.

At the same time...

"Are you still playing with that?" Ophiuchus asked. "That you mean her?" Mirror Susan asked holding the shrunken child up to him. "Yes. She served her purpose. Do away with her like her mother" he said. "Oh that wouldn't be any fun Ophiuchus. Say, don't you have a more normal name? That's a fuckin' mouthful" Susan asked. "If you must know...I've been going by the name Markus these past few decades" he replied. "Decades? How old are you?" she asked. "Old enough that all from my childhood is dust. Places, people, everything" he replied. Susan looked to the inch-tall child between her fingers. "Mr. Grumpy here says I should eat you too. Yep. Mommy was yummy. She wriggled all the way down. You wanna join mommy?" she asked grinning. The child still dressed in her pjs didn't understand her English, so she wasn't aware of the threat of being devoured alive. "Susan?" Markus asked looking at the passengers.

"Relax. I have this entire rail car under my best perception spell. Check this out" she said dropping the child into her breast pocket and standing up. She went to the seat next to them where a boy about 16 sat dressed in a school uniform. He was busy on his smartphone as Susan stood next to him. She ruffled his hair and bent down to smell him. "Yummy" she muttered. She squeezed forward of his seat and bent down. Susan unzipped his pants and pulled his cock out. A few good wanks and she began sucking him off. Being young, the boy began shooting into her mouth within two minutes. Still playing on his phone and twitching slightly. Susan swallowed his seed smirking. "You point has been made" Markus said. Susan held her hand up as she went about shrinking the boy where he sat. Happily humming to herself, she pulled off his clothing and once nude, placed him in her mouth. She sucked on him for a few moments before letting him slide down her throat. "Now my point has been made" she said returning to her seat.

"We will be arriving at Kyoto station in five minutes. Please take your seats for deceleration" a woman said over the intercom in Japanese. She sat sipping her coffee smiling with the idea of the teenager in her belly dying without actually knowing what just happened. Even the hot coffee raining down on him did nothing to break the hold her spell had on him. Not long after, she and Markus stood outside the station looking at a local map. "The history museum is not far. This way" he said walking. She took a few steps and felt the shrunken girl riding up on her nipple. She took her out and dangled her over her mouth. "Naw. Good luck little one. You'll need it" she snickered tossing the girl into a discarded paper cup on the ground. "Whoo...two points. Hey wait up!" Susan yelled running after him.  

A half hour and six blocks later...

Markus walked through the museum ignoring the patrons and school kids there on a field trip. "What are we looking for?" Susan asked. "A particular exhibit. It caught my attention a few days ago. Ah. Down this way towards the Jomon exhibit" he said spotting a sign. When they arrived, they could see kids huddled around a young woman in business attire. "And this here is a clay tablet dating back to the earliest time of the Jomon period*. These markings here indicate cord used as decoration when making the clay. Feel free to take pictures" the woman said cheerily. The kids looked bored as hell and eventually walked away leaving her, Markus, and Susan. "H... hello” ‘she said in English. "Japanese is fine" Markus muttered as he studied the tablet encased in a reinforced case. "It's an honor to have foreigners take interest in our culture" she said. "It ain't your culture" he said quietly.

(Authors note: The Jomon period existed from 14,500 BCE to about 1000 BCE in Japan. Around this time, nomads from Asia crossed over a now long-gone glacial bridge into Japan. The people were hunter gatherers with similar lifestyles of Pacific Northwest America populations of that time. They made clay pottery that used braided cord as a design in their work. Eventually they would become the native Ainu tribe that exists today...barely.)

"Excuse me?" she asked. "This is not your culture and it's not from the Jomon Era" he said studying it. "Sir. Archeologists have dated it to 13,000 BCE" she said. "Your archeologists are fools. This is far older than that" he said before muttering an odd language. In a flash, the tablet was in his hands. The woman stood in utter shock as he teleported the tablet out of the case. "I've spent thousands of years looking for this" he said brushing his hand over it. He pulled out his phone. "It says it's there in an area called Aomori. Come Susan" he said putting the tablet down. "What about her?" she asked. "I don't need that koonago and her goons coming here. Dispose of her" he replied. "Sorry girl. Just business this time" she said snapping her fingers. The woman shrank to an inch tall. Susan's footsteps like small earthquakes as she walked closer. The woman screamed and took off running. She fell down as wearing her heels didn't make for good running shoes. She looked up to see the giantess lower her foot on her. A small crunch silencing a squeak. Susan ground her into paste before following him out of the museum.

3 hours and 30 minutes later...

"The station manager and chaperone for the kids confirm that a male student is missing. That can't be a coincidence" Chisame said. "Nobody saw anything?" Keith asked. "Nothing" she replied. "Susan. Try tracking the girl again" he said. "Keith. That boy is probably dead. It would be a miracle if that kid is alive" she said. Keith gave her a look. "Okay. Just a moment" she said pulling her pendant out. She held it over her smartphone with a map of the city. "Son of a bitch! Not only alive but right here!" she yelled. "Here?" Keith asked. "Like right here right here!" she said. Their blood ran cold looking down at their feet. "Thousands have walked through here. Street sweepers, trash collectors, rats and god knows what else" Chisame said. Susan used clairvoyance. She saw something and took off in a sprint. "HERE! RIGHT HERE!" she yelled. "Oh god" Fiona muttered. Susan bent down and plucked the passed out shrunken child laying on top of a discarded hamburger box. "God. What did this?" Fiona asked. Susan could smell it on her. "Dried corn syrup and formic acid. Ants did this" she replied. They rushed the girl to the hospital.

"Chisame?" Susan asked. "She'll live. A hour or two more she wouldn't have. She'll need stitches for the ant bites and treatment for the acids burns. She's in critical trying to warm her body back up from exposure. Who the fuck feeds shrunken children to ants?!" she yelled. She shuddered. "Forgive me. That wasn't professional" she muttered. "It was human" Keith said wiping her tears away. Chisame got a phone call. "Censor the video immediately. I'm on my way" she said ending the call.  "Facial recognition caught someone matching Susan's description with a young man at the Kyoto Natural History museum" she said. They drove to the museum and Chisame pulled some strings to let them on even though it had just closed. "The director said a tour guide didn't clock out" she said. Susan sniffed the room. A faint scent caught her attention and she walked over near the display. "Found the tour guide" she muttered bending down.

Chisame bent down and pulled a crushed tiny high heel out of a splotch of blood and meat. She looked at Keith in disbelief. "I want these people Susan. I want them bad" Keith hissed. Susan nodded and walked past him. "Shouldn’t that be in a case?" she asked pointing to the tablet. "Indeed, it should" Chisame said quietly. Susan picked it up. "Please be careful with that. It's a priceless find from the Jomon Period" she said. Susan's eye lit up. "This...isn't Japanese at all. Keith this is Lemurian" Susan said. "Susan are you sure?" Fiona asked. "My power tells me things. These fine lines are a system of language they used" she said brushing her finger over them. "Can you read it?" Keith asked. Susan spoke in a language none had ever heard. "In English?" Chisame asked. "Hard to explain in English. A marker? Signpost? It says something about a Lemurian outpost. It gives a set of coordinates" Susan said. "Really?! What are they?" Keith asked.

"They aren't the system we use. Three sets of coordinated with zero starting at...Sirius?" she asked. "The North Star! Brilliant! Even with stellar drift, Sirius wouldn’t deviate much at all. That's why it's known as the constant star. Hmm...three sets. Triangulation probably. Give me the numbers Susan" he said. Susan seemed to struggle as she translated Lemurian script into that which we use now. "If we use the North Pole as starting points, north to south by way of X is here. Then Y is here. And finally Z axis would be here. I'll be damned. It points to a mountain region here in Japan. Aomori...." he said showing the map to Chisame. "It will be hard getting there. Snowfall is heavy in the winter" she said. "Regardless we should go anyway. Whatever is there can't be good for us" Fiona said. "Agreed. The cars will take us back to the station" Chisame said.

About an hour later...

"Your heartbeat has been elevated for awhile" Keith said. "When I took this job, I thought only of the wonders. Being shrunk and going about my day like a koonago. Now seeing what can happen to a shrunken person..." she muttered. She sank into her train seat. "It can be dangerous yeah. But people like us exist to keep things like this from spreading. That is our burden.  To see the ugly side of possibility" Chisame stared at him for a second. "That is a very interesting way to see it. I guess I was kinda childish to think in only those terms" she said. "It's your first time seeing people die or almost die in ways you never considered. No shame in being weired out. If more people had your cheery outlook on magic and shrinking, we'd be out of a job" he chuckled. "Arigato Keith-san" she said. "You're welcome. The train slowed down and an announcer spoke. "I was afraid of this. The train is suspending service due to the snow. It will stop at a small town on the border of Hokkaido prefecture" she said.

"Shit! That gives them the advantage" Keith said. "Not quite. The train before us ran into the same problem. Given the timetables, our targets are most likely on it" she replied. "How far away?" Keith asked. The next town north of our stop is...47 miles away. Too far away for us to walk even with magic assistance. Observe" she said pointing out the window. The snowstorm was blinding, well over a foot had already fallen. The train arrived at the stopping point and everyone got off. They were directed to stay at a few inns in the area. Chisame used her pull to book a room at a hot springs inn. "Will it be a problem for just one room?" Chisame asked as she checked them in. "Only if a snore" Keith snickered. Susan looked annoyed. "The room is the fourth on the right. Our bags have been sent to it. I'll be along shortly" Chisame said. Keith, Fiona, and Susan made their way to the room.

Susan flopped onto the futon while Fiona stretched and looked outside. "The snow is kinda pretty" she said. "Yeah..." Susan muttered looking at Keith. "What's got your jaw so tight?" he asked. "Just trying to figure out how long it'll take for you to fuck Chisame" she replied. "Excuse me?" Keith asked. "I think I'll partake of that hot spring" Fiona said. "Shower. Hot springs are a no no for pregnant girls" Keith said turning attention to her. Fiona skipped into the bathroom. "Care to explain yourself?" Keith asked. "Am I wrong?" Susan asked. "Oh so that's what's up. You're jealous because I'm being nice to her. Well suck it up. That girl just had cold reality slap her in the face. She saw a half frozen shrunken child nearly eaten to the bones by ants. A tour guide crushed flat into the floor. That might be a typical Tuesday for you but that's frightening as fuck to her. And you and your selfishness got the nerve to be jealous when I show compassion to her? GET OVER YOURSELF!"

"I love you and care about your wellbeing, but you are NOT my mate. And who I chose to fuck is not your business" he said coldly. "Then pardon me. Not everyone was blessed with a spouse, mistresses, and biological children. Pardon me for wanting to be protective of one of the few things going right in my troubled life. You send mixed signals Keith. Don't be a pissy child when you're called out on it" she spat standing up. Susan walked out of the room. Fiona emerged not long after. She disrobed and tore her arcane apart keeping her human sized. She sat quietly on the pillow. "You heard all that?' Keith asked. "We have good hearing so yeah" Fiona muttered. "Was I wrong?" he asked. Fiona climbed into the lap of the giant and sat quietly. Keith found himself rubbing her pregnant belly with his fingertip. "Why are you doing that?" she asked. "Thought it would feel good for you" he said stopping. "Never said stop" she said pulling the giant finger back.

"You do things to make people feel better. You go out of your way to do them. Why? And don't say it's because you like being nice" she said. "I know what emotional pain feels like. I don't want others feeling that way if I can help it" he replied. "Now imagine how Susan feels. You know the shit she went through and like it or not, she's bonded to you. She's taken your scent, tasted you, chose you as her protector. You really think she'd be rational in the face of losing your attention?" Fiona asked. "Probably not" he replied. The tiny woman pulled his fingertip just underneath her swollen tits.  "Do you understand how rare a strong, caring, sensual partner is? To know what you desire, to sense your hidden pain, to hold you in their hand with a touch so gentle it could tickle a snowflake?" she asked. Her milk leaked onto his fingertip. Keith licked it away. "So I was wrong" he muttered. "More like right in the wrong way."

"You're right in saying who you mate with is your business and she needs to understand there will be other girls in your life. However, you need to understand why she feels the way she does and compensate for it" she replied. Keith held her in his hands. He looked outside the window. "Give her time and right now I need you" she said. "Okay..." he muttered. "I need...your touch" she muttered blushing. "I understand" he said petting her hair. Keith was gentle as he sucked the milk out of her swollen breasts. The tiny woman cooed in delight as she rested on his lips. It only took a minute to take care of that. She rested as she laid back in his palm. His fingers playing with her tiny feet chuckling at how her teeny toes curled and spread. "Shit that feels good. This is what I'm talking about" she moaned. Chisame Suddenly entered the room. "Oh! I can come back" she said. "Nonsense. Sit and relax" he said. The young woman sat down on the floor lightly embarrassed. "You feeling better?" he asked. "Yes, a little bit" she replied. "I... I didn't know you were a couple" she stammered. "We're not. I'm kinda connected to those I command. Fiona needed some extra attention due to her condition. Can you look after her while I change?" he asked. Before she could answer, Keith handed Fiona into the hands of the Asian giantess.

"Don't be so nervous. Just start with my feet" Fiona said. A minute or so in Chisame asked if she was hurting her. "Nope. You got the touch of an angel" Fiona sighed. Her finger rubbed her legs and thighs. "You sure you haven't done this before?" Fiona asked. She shook her head. "You're too good to be a beginner. Ryoko did this for you didn't she?" Fiona asked. Chisame blushed bright red. "Look, it's okay to feel different things. I can already tell you're a macrophile. It's not a sin" she said. Chisame wanted to cry. Her finger brushed her tiny pussy. Fiona groaned. "Sorry!" Chisame blurted. "Don't be sweetie. If you're gentle, you can suck on me" Fiona said. Chisame gently placed Fiona feet first in her mouth and moved her lips just over her belly. Keith chuckled to himself and dialed his phone.

"How is she?" he asked. "Halfway done. She's sleeping now" Hope said. "Good. And what about you?" he asked. "Missing you" she said. "Aww...I’ll be back soon" he said. "Daddy?" she asked. "Yeah sweetie?" he said. "Something bad is gonna happen. I can sense it but can't see it. Something really strong is blocking me. I'm scared" she said. A chill went up his spine as he knew she had the FarSight ability. "We'll be extra careful" he said. "...okay" she muttered. Keith ended the call. "Damn you're good. AHHH...." Fiona said cumming in the giantess' mouth. "You like the taste of western food?" Fiona chuckled. Chisame placed her on the pillow and hid her face. "I'm teasing! This is how we roll. We break each other's balls and make sure each other is cared for" Fiona said. "That's right. Now live a little" Keith said using arcane to shrink her. Chisame wanted to object but Fiona hushed her. "There...there is a koonago spring just outside" she said. Fiona stood up. "Show me" she said. Keith wanted the little women leave. "Well, I should see to Susan" he muttered going to the mixed baths.

Meanwhile...

"So, what's your artifact?" Mirror Susan asked. Markus looked disdainfully at the throng of shrunken Japanese citizens before her. Some rubbing her still sweaty feet. "My artifact was taken from me and dismantled" he replied. "So you're powerless?" she asked. He snapped his fingers and incinerated a random shrunken person on the spot. "Guess again" he muttered. "So how did you spring me anyway?" she asked. "In modern terms, I hacked it. It is of Lemurian design, so I know how it works inside and out" he replied. Susan goaded a young woman towards a piece of sushi. "And this magic I have?" she asked. "Lemurian. Superior to all others except Etherion" he replied. Susan pushed the girl onto her bare back on the sushi and used some wasabi to stick her to it. "So, I'm like you?" she asked. "I'm purebred. Elite class. The last pureblood Lemurian alive. You are frankly an imitation" he said coldly. "An imitation you need" Susan said roughly as she dipped the sushi and the girl into soy sauce. She looked at him as she placed them in her mouth and swallowed them whole. She bid another to approach. A man this time.

"The others are...lacking. I need talent and you have it" he said. "Well I don't follow those weaker than me. Not anymore" she said. Markus took a chopstick from her and plunged it into his heart. He fell backwards into the floor bleeding and not moving. "What the fuck?!" she yelled. A second later, Markus sat back up pulling the chopstick out. "What would happen if you did the same thing?" he asked. "How...how did you do that?" she asked. "Long ago I mastered immortality. Ultimate immortality. How else would someone live over 20,000 years?" he asked. He stared at her with both eyes with magic arrays in them. "Have I impressed you enough?" he asked. She quietly nodded. He looked over the dozens of naked spellbound people around her. "You enjoy torturing them" he said. "Absolutely. They nearly drove us to extinction. Crushing them, fucking them to death, watching their faces contort in grief and agony as I eat their children as they watch. They deserve no less" Susan said with ire.

"They have their uses. With the right hand, they are useful servants" he said. Susan scoffed. "It's true. A firm hand is what they need" he said. He snapped his fingers cancelling out her mind control spell. Immediately the humans before them began screaming and looking for escape. "Shut up or you all die!" He said with glowing eyes. They stopped screaming but huddled together in fear. "Lick her feet. And you there feed us!" he commanded as he laid down on the floor. Susan watched them obey. "Please...please let us go. At least my children" a man asked. Markus looked at him before glancing at his wife and two kids. "You can all go at the cost of one of your children. Decide" he said. The man lowered his head weeping. He bid his family to grab sushi to feed the giant. "And that's how you do it Susan" Markus said smiling.

"Just keep your end of the bargain" she said. "Hmmm...good. I will. Once the convergence is over and my kin are free, you will have all the artifacts. We will have no need of them" he said chewing his food.

Back with Keith and his group, he entered the spring. As it was getting late, there were no young people or really old. A few middle-aged men and women plus one sulking borrower. The Japanese watched curiously as the westerner entered the water. "Konbawa." he said politely to them. They nodded. Susan heard his voice and wiped her tears away. He waded close to her. She pretended not to smell him and kept her eyes forward looking at the falling snow beyond the sloped awning. "It's pretty" Keith said. "Is it like this all the time?" he asked the others. "No...English" a woman said. "My idiot boss asked if the snow is like this all the time" Susan said in Japanese. The people chuckled and laughed. They nodded. "I know what baka (idiot) means" Keith said. "Saves me the trouble. You were a callous asshole tonight Keith. And I may have been pushy and jealous, but you stomped all over my feelings" she said turning to him. "So Fiona said" he said quietly. "I've...been touchy lately. I snapped at Lawan over something similar recently.

"She even slapped the shit out of me when I blurted out it was easier to try killing you because you love me" he said. Susan sat back listening. "I can't be all you want me to be" he said softly. "I don't need you too! Just love me in the moment! Understand where I'm coming from when I'm hurting. Be there for me...be there to grieve...when I finally die" she said sobbing. "Wish I knew English" someone muttered. "Susan..."

"Don't. Close your eyes" she said. Keith closed them and felt her fingers close to his own eyes. He felt an odd warmth for a moment. "Open them and look North" she said. Keith did and was amazed. "Whoa. Is that an aurora?" he asked. "No Keith. That shimmering yellow light is what magic looks like. The stronger the user, the brighter their magic aura can be. Our adversary is causing that. And before you ask no I can't find their exact location. However, their cloaking spell can't hide them completely.   

You can't comprehend how much power it would take to be that visible" she said shaking. Keith felt a chill even in the hot water. He remembered Hope saying she sensed something bad coming. Keith took Susan into his arms. The Japanese couple close by who stuck around excused themselves but not before winking and nodding.

"They're gone. You can shrink back now" he whispered. Susan let out a sigh as she let go of her spell and drifted into his cupped hands. "No. Not like this" she muttered swimming from him. She restored her human size. Keith looked confused until she used her magic to shrink him. "If...I'm dying tomorrow, I'm having this my way" she said biting her lip. She held him in her hands looking at his erection. "Mine. Just mine...for tonight" she muttered shedding tears. Her giant lips engulfed his crotch and began sucking and slurping away. "Gentle...please" Keith groaned. She laid back and slowed down on him. Her finger rubbing his bare ass. She felt him stiffen and shoot his load onto her tongue. She let him gently slip from her mouth and he stopped as her cleavage caught him. "No more milk" she said sadly. Keith could feel her heart racing. The poor giantess was so fragile to him right then. "I would've loved it" she muttered. "You told me that" he said. She sat on the edge of the spring and spread her legs. She gripped him and shoved him in feet first.

"I would be dead right now of it wasn't for you. Every day I came home I stared at my sword. How easy it would be to place the blade at my throat and just pull to the side. The pain would end. The empty heartbreak. You didn't let me go. You held onto me so tightly. I want you to know that" she groaned as she fucked him in and out of her. "All the stupid shit you put up with because of me and you still keep me around! Oh god! I don't deserve you...but please don't let me go" she sobbed as she bucked and came. Her pussy squeezing Keith as hard as it could before it let him go. Keith rested in her hand as she sobbed her heart out. "Cancel the spell" he said. Susan nodded and did. It was clear to him that all the events that occurred had taken the woman to the breaking point.

"If it was this hard, why didn't you say anything to me?" he asked. She didn't answer. "I knew you had some rough shit going on but this?" he asked. She turned her face away from him. "I told you we don't let those we love suffer in silence. Yeah, I'm your boss but it's more than that between us. You know that. We share our burdens. That's the first thing we learn growing up as borrowers. Share yours" he said. "No. I... I can't" she muttered. Keith pulled her roughly to her. "That's an order" he said. Susan nodded reluctantly and used her magic to link their minds...and their souls. Keith was overwhelmed by the flood of emotions at first. Grief, pain, jealously, all washed over his heart like the ocean tides. He shed tears. He saw images carefully hidden inside her. Susan sobbing in the middle of the night as she wrapped herself in the last pair of Lily's dirty socks. Her sitting in her room holding her sword and placing it at her throat. Only the knock on her door from Rose stopped her.

Her lust for Keith and the guilt of it. Her jealousy of Lawan. Constant nights of praying for him too not leave her behind. When the link broke, the woman was shaking. She didn't have the heart to look at him. Keith turned her chin and wiped her tears away as he gazed at her magic eye. "I'm so ugly inside" she muttered. "Lonely" he said shaking his head. Keith kissed her and held it as his tongue explored her mouth. "I will never abandon you. Never leave you. My love won't fade. I may have...others that come my way but that doesn't mean I pushed you out of my heart. You are mine. My burden, my choice, my blessing" he told her. Her tension so tight she collapsed into his arms. Her focus broken, she shrank down to her regular size. Keith carried her back to his room.

Chisame and Fiona was fast asleep on a giant pillow as they returned. Keith laid down in his futon still holding Susan. He placed her on his pillow. "Don't go to sleep yet" she said kicking his lip with her tiny bare foot. He pursed his lips around it and sucked. She giggled as his taste buds tickled her sole. "We have a long day tomorrow" he said. His finger rubbed her crotch for a moment before he petted her head. "It's not a dream" he said as if reading her thoughts. "I want to try having another" she said softly patting her belly. "I figured you would. When this is all over. I'll be glad to" he said. Susan squealed in delight. "Shhh! Bedtime" he said. "...I love you" she said. "I love you too" he muttered closing his eyes.

"What are you looking at?" Mirror Susan asked patting her full stomach. "Our competition" Markus replied looking outside. Susan had not noticed but as she focused her power to something other than malice, she saw the faint aura of magic. "You serious? They tracked us?" she asked. "For some time. It matters not. If you are done devouring the locals, it is time for rest" he said. Susan laid next to him. "Have you ever taken a mate?" she asked touching his chest. "Thousands. My descendants are spread all over the world" he replied. "Then you won't mind another?" she asked. Markus sat up and tore off what little clothing she had on. He pulled his cock out before pinning her down. "Do not play with me. You want the honor of my seed you must be worthy of it" he said. "Borrowers don't take sex lightly. We can be very passionate people. We're also very resilient and... sensual" she smirked. "I know full well what your kind likes. I had a borrower as a wife once back in the 1880's" he said.

"Then you know how we like our feet worshipped?" she chuckled. He took ahold of her foot and sucked her big toe. "Tell me. Did she please you? Bear your children?" Susan asked. "We were not married long. She found out what I had done to some of the Native American tribes and their brownies. Called me a monster. I ate her alive for it" he replied. Susan got a perverse chill from that. "Well I'm not her. And by the way, the plumbing works down there. Fixed with my magic on the first day" she said with a smirk. She pulled him close as he pushed into her. He fucked her slow and deep as the woman from another world kissed him and smiled. Her belly full of sushi, sake, and dozens of innocent people gurgled as her body moved and jerked. And with a grunt and moan, and a climax, fate moved forward.