She's got the whole wide world, in her hands
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doreedo
This wasn't what she'd wanted to happen! Hotaru gulped and stared nervously down at her hands; still curled up with Shujin cradled protectively within. What... what was she going to do?

Worry wasn't an emotion that Hotaru was used to feeling. She got frustrated when an invention didn't work the way she intended it to (or not at all), angry when people purposefully messed with her inventions, happy whenever she had Shujin around...

But she wasn't a girl who worried often. Hotaru might've seemed bright and sunny on the exterior, but she was a pragmatic girl deep down. Things either went the way she wanted, or they didn't. Simple as that.

This was definitely not one of the times when things were going the way she wanted. Hotaru's many inventions and experiments weren't exactly what she'd call safe (given that she often worked with chemicals or electrical wiring), but they weren't usually dangerous either. She could count on one hand the number of times something had gone wrong enough that she'd actually been at risk of physical harm- and more importantly, Shujin had been by her side ready to bail her out in case something did happen.

Hotaru still hadn't forgiven herself for the one time he'd actually had to step in to prevent her from getting hurt.

Which was why she'd made a silent, unspoken promise with herself to be more cautious with her experiments- fire extinguishers closer at hand, safety goggles and gloves when needed...

Every possible risk should've been factored in! So, why, oh why had she messed up this badly?!

At his current size, he couldn't go to school. He couldn't help her out with experiments or inventions. Things that were inconsequential to humans, like bugs, cats, or dogs were suddenly a great danger to him.

She needed to watch over him, keep him close until she found a way to fix the problem she'd created!

Just... she had to keep him close and safe. If she lost him while he was like this... Hotaru couldn't suppress the shudder that wracked her body. That would be as good as killing him. Not him, not her Shujin... She couldn't, wouldn't let that happen!

---------------

The whole world was shaking gently, but you remained safe, held fast within the protective dome Hotaru's hands had formed around you. There wasn't much room to move around, but you decided your safety was a small price to pay for feeling a bit cramped.

Hotaru was doubtless on her way to school right now. Man, today was going to be boring. At least your phone had shrunken with you, so you had that as a distraction. Hotaru had whipped up fancy solar chargers that were fused with yours and her phones, so as long as you had access to sunlight you could recharge it.

Suddenly, the whole world shook violently. You didn't tumble out of Hotaru's hands or anything quite so drastic- you realized that she'd likely been running to school and had skidded to a stop in front of the gates.

'Guess she'll have to come up with an excuse for why I'm absent...

-----------------

It felt wrong sitting down in her usual spot in the classroom while Shujin's desk was unoccupied. Meanwhile, said teen was still clutched in her hands! And Hotaru couldn't just keep him there, he'd be spotted if she left him on her desk... She'd have to hide him somewhere...

Ooh... Hotaru felt her hands shaking.

'G-get a hold of yourself, girl! Shujin needs you to protect him while he's vulnerable! You absolutely can't let him down!'


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What happens next?

1. Someone walks past Hotaru, who drops you in her lap without thinking.
2. Hotaru makes it through the first period without issue. BUT- as she's walking through the halls to her next class, someone bumbs into her from behind, and Shujin goes flying out of her hands!
3. Something happens at lunch, and Hotaru misplaces Shujin!
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March 23
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