I obtained the answer to this question immediately as Heihachi- in his animal form- appeared in that instant, coming through the window, landing onto my bed.
He made the size of a truck to me!
It was impossible not to scream out in panic by this point, as I tried to assimilate the incredible revelation.
Oh my god! Oh my god! What's going on? How did this happen?
I was reduced to the size of a plastic figurine, not measuring more than ten centimeters!
Even in his animal form, I could read Heihachi's puzzlement, as he took in my appearance.
'Oh no!' I exclaimed in total panic, jumping to my feet. 'Tsunan shouldn't see me like this! I'd feel way too embarrassed! Heihachi, take me away from here, quick!'
Climbing onto his back, I held on tightly onto his fur as he flew off with me.
We stopped by the river in Kuribayashi neighborhood, and I threw some fresh water over my face, trying to regain my cool.
'What's that?' exclaimed Heihachi, who took back human form at that moment.
'Ah! What are you doing?!' I cried out, flushing up, covering my eyes with my hands, and turning away from him for he was completely nude.
'I think that it's a message for you,' he said and I took a peek at what he was referring to.
There was indeed a message composed of droplets of water that was hanging in the air just above the surface of the river, message which said: "You have until five o'clock of this afternoon to find a solution or you're going to keep this appearance for the rest of your life!"
I plumped backward onto my behind, speechless.
WHAT'S GOING ON?! What am I going to do?
'Listen!' declared Heihachi. 'If you want, I can consult Hatsu to see if he knows something about such a condition, and if there's some way or a potion to reverse it! I suppose that you'd want to wait for me here because you don't want anyone to see you like this?'
'Yes, please!' I begged, urgently.
'Alright!'
He shifted into a bat again and flew away while I sat there waiting for him, having the jitters.
A few minutes had gone by when, suddenly, I heard sniffling sound at my back, feeling a presence there.
I froze, a shrill running down my spine.
Swallowing hard, I turned around slowly only to come face to face with a cat. I loved cats. But what were the chances that, reduced to the size of a mice like I was, it found me appealing to eat?
Screaming my lungs out, I ran amok while it chased after me, in an almost playful manner.
Being too much in a frenzy to concentrate onto where I was going, I bumped into something head-on. The impact was such that I fell down on my behind on the ground.
Letting out a moan, I opened my eyes to see that I had actually bumped into someone and that miniature person who had gotten knocked down too in the impact, was none other than Shirane Nakagiri!
And in a dramatic turn of events, he was equally pursued by a hungry cat!
We stared at each other in shock, while the felines at our heels staggered to a stop to growl ferociously at each other, ready for a confrontation.
'Let's get away from here before we become the meal of the winner!' exclaimed Shirane and I obeyed, getting out of the sight of the two animals with him, as these pounced onto each other in a violent fight.
'I can't believe that I'm reduced to running away from a simple cat!' grumbled Shirane, bitterly, putting a punch up, as we stopped by a house a good distance away to catch our breaths. 'My pride has taken a blow!'
'Do you know the cause of our present state?'
'How do you want me to know that?' he snapped at me, before he took a deep breath and stated, 'The first question to ask ourselves is to know whether we're the only ones who have been targeted or whether all the members of the organization are in the same state as us.'
I cupped my chin. That's right! I didn't think about that!
Heihachi wasn't an official member of the organization so he didn't really count. It was clear to us that there was someone or something behind our condition.
'The person who lives the closest from here, is Cho. Let's go to see her!'
He began to stride away.
I hesitated to follow him for I was supposed to wait for Heihachi's return to come by the river. But I couldn't go back there right now. And there was no use that I remained here all alone either.
Finally, I decided to tag along with the redheaded male.
Because our sizes had been reduced, the distance we could cover over time was equally minimized.
We reached Cho Kururugi's house an hour later while she lived only in the same neighborhood.
I found out that the ginger-haired girl lived all alone. For a minute, I wondered where was her family.
Her home had a tiny front yard and was one-storied, bearing a bedroom, a living room with a kitchenette and the bathroom.
Since we couldn't knock on the door, we had to find another way in. We managed to climb up onto the open window of her bedroom.
As we peered our heads inside, what greeted our sight was a Cho Kururugi, coming out of the bathroom wrapped up only in a towel!
This gave Shirane a nose-bleed while I swung around, letting out a skirl, flushing up in embarrassment.
The red-haired boy's hand clamped over my mouth to shut me up in the instant and he shoved me down on the ground with him.
When I lifted my head, I realized that Cho had heard me and she was searching for the provenance of the voice, her expression bewildered.
'I was sure that I heard someone scream!' she mumbled to herself, before she made a small shrug with her shoulders and turned to her wardrobe to search for her clothes.
I sighed in relief. She didn't see us!
'I don't know if I should be relieved or anxious that we're the only ones affected,' said Shirane, his face still red.
Unlike us, Kururugi didn't make the size of a figurine when she woke up in the morning and we could conclude from this that the other members of the organization were safe too.
But what did this mean? Why was only Shirane and I who have been targeted? Who was behind this?
'What to do?' I murmured, feeling a bit depressed.
Picking himself up, Shirane cleared his throat then, saying, 'Look! I think that it's better if we split up to try and find a solution before the time we have been accorded expires!'
My eyes narrowed at him, cynically.
Yeah, right! He wants to take advantage of the situation to spend the day with Cho. Small as he is now, it's very easy for him to climb into her bag and spy on her to know her habits and with some luck, know what she truly thinks of him.
'I know what you're thinking about! If you repeat it to her or anyone afterwards, you're so dead!' he snapped, in a threatening tone.
I broke into cold sweat.
He added in a mutter, 'And don't worry! I'm not a pervert! I'll wait outside until she gets dressed.'
'I'll stay as mute as a tomb!' I giggled, nervously.
Letting out a sigh, I set my way back to the river.
When I reached it, there was no trace of the two cats of earlier, but Heihachi was nowhere to be seen either.
I wondered if he had come back and upon not seeing me, he had panicked and was actually searching for me everywhere. I decided to wait for him for some times, in case he'd return but, after half an hour had passed by, I realized that every minute that was ticking by was drawing me closer to that future where I would measure only a few inches long for good.
Springing to my feet, I decided to go to the organization to check the library in the hope of finding a remedy to my present state in one of Master Kagami's books collection.
It took me three whole hours to get there and not without having escaped many dangers along the way. The most terrific moment had been when I had nearly got squashed under the tires of a car. I had been half about sure that I was going to die before I would reach destination but at last, I reached it.
As I approached the door of the building, suddenly I heard voices in the hall. My determination began to falter.
Of course the organization wasn't empty!
Is it possible for me to intrude the building unnoticed?
What if somebody in there sees me like this?
All color drained out of my face as I tried to imagine all the dirty pranks that the members of the organization could play on me taking advantage of my miniature size, as though I was some insect.
I squalled out in horror, cringing away at the view, my spirit shattering completely.
Hanging my head and dragging my feet under me, I headed away and ended up by the river in Kuribayashi again.
What do I do now?
Feeling utterly sleepy suddenly, I laid down onto the grass, closing my eyes.
A few minutes later, just as I was beginning to wake up, out of the blue, I felt a hand close around me and my body left the ground.
My heart jumped to my throat and I stared without blinking at the teenaged boy in whose grip I was.
The latter had brown hair and he wore spectacles. Clothed in the local high school uniform, he was accompanied by a dark-haired boy who wore the same uniform as him. They couldn't be older than seventeen.
Oh no!
I tried to remain as motionless as possible, not breathing, pretending to be a lifeless object.
'Wow! Look at this man! It's completely crazy!' exclaimed the boy with the spectacles.
'We would have said a miniature human being! It's utterly flippant!' declared the other, as he poked my cheek with his forefinger.
I kept my jaws locked, trying not to make any sound, my nervousness reaching its peak.
'Say, do you think that she's wearing knickers under her kimono?' giggled the spectacled boy, and his friend replied, giggling too, 'I don't know! We should verify!'
My eyes stung with tears, my face heating up in shame.
I thought that they were going to lift my kimono when, unexpectedly, I was snatched away from the hand of the brown-haired boy.
'Sorry, this is mine!'
Tsunan!
The two teenaged boy stared at him for a second, exchanged a look with each other, before they giggled in embarrassment and rushed away.
'Do you think that he heard us?!'
'Boy! That was so embarrassing!'
'Thank you!' I cooed at Tsunan, hugging him at the face the moment the two boys had gone out of sight.
He had arrived in the nick of time. I guessed that Heihachi had warned him about what happened to me and where he could most possibly find me.
Something occurred to me abruptly.
'Wah! No! Don't look at me!' I cried out, pulling away and turning my back onto him; still in his hold.
'You don't have to be ashamed with me!' he told me, and hesitantly, I turned to face him again.
'Don't I look funny to you?'
'No.'
My eyes went wide as I remembered something at that moment and I demanded, 'What time is it?'
He checked his watch, replying, 'Ten minutes to five o'clock.'
I thought that I was going to faint in that instant.
'There- There's only ten minutes left before I remain like this for the rest of my life!' I was utterly floored. 'Will I remain like this forever?'
'Shun, listen to me-'
I shook my head, trying to think positively, declaring, 'It can't be as bad as I'm thinking. I'm only dramatizing! Yes, it's not because I make the size of a manga-character figurine that I can't accomplish missions anymore!'
I tried to imagine the scene: Riding Heihachi's back, I attack an Oni from the air and my five shakujō plants themselves into the latter's cheek. "What was that? A mosquito bite?" snickers the creature before crushing me under its toe like a vulgar insect.
I paled at the view.
'Shun-'
'I'm blinding myself with my disillusions!' I moaned out, dejectedly, holding my face in my hands.
'Shun, you're not going to remain like this forever.'
'It's very kind of you to reassure me. Thank you.'
'I'm serious. What's happening to Shirane and you is your punishment for the Kanbara mission.'
I perked my head up instantly, staring at the doctor. 'Eh?'
Out of nowhere, Burabura appeared, and I became caught in puff of smoke.
Coughing out, I opened my eyes to see that I have recovered my original size.
I was dumb-founded.
'Master Kagami can be very original when it comes to punishment,' said Tsunan with a sigh.
A- A punishment! I panicked for nothing!
I felt like laughing and weeping at the same time. Instead, I picked myself up and turned away from Tsunan, crossing my arms behind my back, making as if nothing.
'What do you want me to cook for dinner?' I asked.
Tsunan chuckled, and I shook my head at myself, chuckling too.
***
On the other side…
Shirane Nakagiri's eyes blew wide open.
What am I doing on the ground?
Memories of what happened flooded his mind at that moment.
Just after Shun Shutsuki had left, a bird had appeared out of nowhere and picked him up from the window sill with its beak by the back of his clothes.
In a surge of panic, he had summoned his scythe and hit the bird with the handle on the head with it.
It hadn't been a very wise move considering the height from which he was when the bird released him upon the blow.
Fortunately, he fell in the bushes in Cho Kururugi's yard, but he had hit his head on the way and passed out.
Getting up onto all fours on the ground, Shirane exclaimed, hysterically, 'Malediction! I've missed such a good occasion of spending the day with my dear, sweet one!'
Suddenly, he was caught in an explosion of smoke and the moment it dissipated, he had recovered his normal size.
He stared at the chōchin-obake which had appeared out of thin air, puzzled.
The latter rolled its eyes at him before it vanished.
'I don't know why I'm having a very strange impression, suddenly.' He feared that he was beginning to understand. 'Master Kagami!' he shouted, utterly mortified.
'Will you lower your tone?' demanded a familiar voice, abruptly, and his head snapped around to see Cho Kururugi who had arrived.
Her eyes were narrowed at him.
'What are you doing roaming around of my house like a pervert anyway?' she snarled then, her hand-fan growing into an harisen. She hit him on the head with it, knocking him down.
'I don't deserve to be treated like this,' he moaned.
***
In the evening…
'Well, well! Master Kagami has got one of those sense of humor! He always finds original ideas when it comes to punishment. Our dear master is truly special,' exclaimed Hatsu, in a laugh.
Heihachi, Hatsu, Tsunan and I were at the Ametsuchi Bar, dining together.
'I'm still very much ashamed,' I mumbled, flushing up.
'By the way, have you already found your costume for the annual festival? It's only two days away after all!'
I looked up at Hatsu, where he was sat opposite of me with Heihachi, and I asked him in bewilderment, 'The festival?'
'Tsunan hasn't told you about it yet?' he asked, picking up a shrimp from his plate with his chopsticks and putting it in his mouth. 'The festival takes place on the same date every year. Toda is wholly illuminated and fairs are set up about everywhere. Shops remain open till late. Everybody disguises themselves and drink and eat during the whole night. And at midnight, there's a fire-crackers spectacle. All the members of the organization meet at the headquarter for partying all together.'
'Are you going to go?' I asked Tsunan, who was sitting next to me.
'Of course, he's coming!' declared Hatsu. 'And you're coming too! The presence of everyone is obligatory. The master truly holds on to this tradition. Otherwise, we can expect to be punished and it's never pretty!'
My expression turned awkward at the mention of punishment, Master Kagami's way.
'Who are you telling this to?' I moaned.
'And you too, Heihachi, you're coming!' exclaimed the blond. 'You're accompanying me!'
Thank you for reading!