Sector JP, Part 4: Ururu's Feelings

Caesar cryptogram hidden in this chapter.

Chapter 4: Ururu's Feelings

Sector JP Treehouse

It was raining heavily over Karakura Town tonight, so the JP members stayed safe in their treehouse. While Yuzu was doing laundry and Kodama was experimenting with waterproof fireworks, Karin was playing Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Adventure on her 4DS; the sequel to Tri Force Heroes, but with an actual storyline. She was sitting on the couch with her legs arched up, wearing her white T-shirt with pink pajama shorts.

She saw Jinta Hanakari come into the living room, his hair wet after just taking a shower. "Hey, Jinta." she called. "You wanna try and get more Rupees than me?"

Jinta shrugged. "Okay."

He got his own DS and sat on the opposite side of the couch from Karin. His legs were also arched up so his and Karin's feet were next to each other in the center. They were silently staring at their screens for several minutes, and the only sounds were of Link's sword in sync with their button taps. "…So, Jinta… you're not still mad about the boxing tournament, are you?"

"Hm?" He glanced up briefly before refocusing on his game. "Why would I still be mad?"

"Because I made it look like you were-"

A firework explosion went off in Kodama's room the moment Karin said that.

"…Oh. Not really, I'm not mad."

"Oh." Karin said simply. They kept playing in silence for several seconds. "…I'm sorry." Jinta glanced up with a brow raised. "I didn't approve of what you were doing, but… what I did was wrong. You didn't deserve to be humiliated like that. I hope you can forgive me…"

Jinta smirked, detecting a soft spot in her iron will. He kicked her between the legs, Karin starting and blushing. "You think I want your apology? You got lucky because I was worn out from beating those other girls. In a real fair fight, I'd punch you senseless."

"Hmm." Karin spared him a wry smirk. They kept playing their game, mashing buttons faster to outbest the other. Almost out of nowhere, they had a drive to beat each other, and they enjoyed the competition. In the end, there was a victor.

"YES!" Jinta cheered. "Bask in my wealthy glory, Karin!"

"Mmm." Karin rolled her eyes. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, even though you're an idiot, you're still a member of my team. So your slip-ups are mine."

"Yeah, maybe they are. Be a better leader." he retorted.

"Shut up." Karin lightly kicked one of his knees.

"Heheh." Jinta kicked hers. They both made little laughs as they kept throwing kicks.

From the dark of the hallway, Ururu Tsumugiya watched with a downtrodden expression. Dressed in a yellow pajama shirt and pants, Ururu quietly walked to her room, climbed in bed, and tried to fall asleep. She hugged a small, stuffed lion plushy, giving herself makeshift comfort that the storm wouldn't get her. Of course, that wasn't the only thing keeping her up. "Sigh…"

Kodama's room, the next day

"When are you gonna tell Jinta how you feel?" Kodama's voice asked through the earpiece in Ururu's Tiny Devil.

"Because I'm afraid he'll laugh at me." Ururu replied softly, fixing a few tiny parts within the firework's structure.

"Why would he laugh at you? I mean, I know he's Jinta, but I thought you two knew each other well enough."

"We do. It's just, ever since we were little, I was the small and helpless one that needed protection, and I was burdening him for that. Even if I don't need it so much now, I'm not sure if he feels very differently about me. He probably likes strong, take-charge girls like Karin. That's why he's Ruby's friend. And after getting to watch all those girls in the tournament, he wouldn't find someone like me very interesting."

"Don't be silly, Ururu, any guy would find you adorable! You're cute as a bug!"

"Heheheh." Ururu blushed, having been the core of many small-related jokes.

"I'm all finished out here. How's it look in there?"

"It looks great. I'm coming out."

Kodama watched as the fly-size girl flew out of a large red firework with yellow swirly stripes. Ururu stretched back to normal size and landed on the floor, taking her helmet off. "I met Jinta-kun before the tournament to massage his shoulders, and… it looked like we were about to kiss." Ururu's cheeks reddened. "Or maybe that was just me… expecting a kiss. I probably made him feel uncomfortable." She frowned.

Kodama plopped a hand on Ururu's left shoulder. "Look, Ururu, I may not know much about romance, but if you love Jinta, then YOU have to make the first move. Otherwise, he's gonna make the move on Karin. Or someone will on him. Either way, you'll spend the rest of your life wondering if you don't."

"I guess you're right. It's just… I don't think now is a good time."

"Well, when you're ready." Kodama shrugged, not really caring about this dilemma. "Anyway, I think we did a good job on this here cracker! When it's ready, it may just be strong enough to blow all these clouds away. Ururu, you had the honor of being inside of the first of my series of Weather Bombs!"

"I'm still heated from excitement." Ururu said sheepishly. "I guess it wasn't just all the Red Chu Jelly we added."

"Spiciest jelly there is." Kodama grinned. "Good for drying up these clouds. With that in mind, wanna go down and shop for balloons with me? I'm thinkin' we can use those to make some pretty convincing Thunderworks."

"That sounds fun. Um, and scary. Let me just change." She began to take off her Tiny Devil.

"You know, since you can, you could become a fly on the wall and eavesdrop on Jinta, see who he likes." Kodama winked.

"No thanks." Ururu blushed, folding the suit up afterwards. "I don't wanna accidentally watch him do… embarrassing boy stuff."

"Yeah, you have a point. Besides, he probably never cleans it, you might get eaten by one of the jillions of bugs he has crawling around in there."

"Hahaha." Ururu laughed softly. The two girls walked to the living room to get their sandals and exit the treehouse.

"Plus, if Numbuh 4 is his role model, he probably doesn't even find girls appealing." Kodama remarked as they entered the living room. "'Course, boys typically tease girls they like, so you've already got-"

"YAAAAAAH!" Ururu screamed at the sight.

Jinta was wearing socks as he twirled in place on the table with one foot, while the other leg was bent up behind him. He wore a diaper, a top-hat with blue and red stripes, and held a makeshift bow-and-arrow ready while an apple sat in his mouth. He also wore a sash that said Assimilate! "J-Jinta-kun, what are you doing?!"

"We're playing Truth or Dare With Mostly Dare." Karin smirked. "The first to wuss out loses."

"Hokay, we don't need to see anymore of this." Kodama wrapped a hand around Ururu's head and covered her eyes. "Come on, Ururu, let's leave them to." She tried to guide her friend out without looking.

Karakura; behind party store

Kodama inflated the last of 20 balloons they had paid for. She rubbed it with another balloon, held them above her head, and made her hair strands stretch and turn spiky. "This one, too! Yep, the ammunition for our Static Storm is A-okay!" She attached the balloons to her robe. Ururu's pigtailed hair was also stretched, with some balloons stuck to her skirt.

"Shouldn't we deflate these before the stickability wears off, or they pop?" the smaller girl asked.

"I wanna see how long these last. I'm thinking, aside from the Thunderworks, we could make a firework that statically binds people together. 'Course, we'd also need a few magnets. We'll probably end up having to go shop for more balloons, anyway. Unless, Ururu, you can't shrink other things with your suit, can you?"

"I use Minish Dust as a power source, and its antidote to grow back to normal. I get it from the Minish in the forest. I guess I could use some on the balloons."

"That'd be swell, because then we could install a mechanism to rub them together and heighten their static ability." Kodama held one balloon around her head and felt the static pull in its direction. "First, let's go to the ice cream shop; at some point, I wanna make fireworks that can snow ice cream."

The girls began their walk down the city, wearing balloons around their clothes. Adults passed weird looks to them, and kids walking by wanted to touch them. Ururu felt like shrinking away from all this attention, but Kodama's bright smile implied that she saw nothing weird about this, and possibly liked the attention.

"Minish Dust, though," Kodama thought aloud, "that gives me an idea for a firework that could shrink the whole city. Or at least just the citizens, but I bet we could pull it off. A Minicracker! Also, a firework that stores high soundwaves, and when it explodes, everyone in a 10-mile radius hears its screech. A Screamcracker! And have you heard of that illegal spice that makes people go crazy under flashy lights? I'll use a Spicecracker to make it rain down over people, and a Flashcracker to let the madness start!"

"Kodama-chan, you're… starting to scare me." Ururu squeaked.

"I just can't help it!" Kodama wore a mad smile as she grasped the air with her fingers. "The feeling when I'm constructing a dangerous explosive, knowing a single slip of my match could destroy everything within my zone! The power to target a single unsuspecting village and wipe it off the maps! And applying the power of elements and mental manipulation to my babies gives me all the more power!! (Hey, Sleepwalking Yuzu kind of had the right idea.)"

"Can't we just save all the scary stuff for missions?"

"Yeah, we will." Kodama said more calmly. "Sigh, but a girl can dream, though."

The duo arrived at the candy store, which also sold the most delectable ice cream. After ordering four different flavors, they waited for the clerk to scoop it up. They heard the bell ding, meaning someone else entered the shop, but they didn't care enough to turn around. While waiting, Ururu's attention decided to wander around the shop… and she saw who was getting a heart-shaped box of chocolates. "J-Jinta-kun?"

The boy was walking to the counter when he heard her speak, stopping and looking up from the candy with surprise. "Oh, Ururu! I… didn't expect to find you here."

"M-Me neither… Um… Who's the candy for? Karin-san?"

"N-No… it's… for you." Jinta blushed.

Ururu turned red. "M…Me?…"

"Yeah… I was going to ask you… on a date."

Kodama's eyes widened. Ururu became more red. "A… date?…"

"Yeah… do you wanna?"

". . ." Ururu smiled, but her temperature kept increasing. "D-Do I… w-wanna!… Huhuhu-u-u-u-u-. . ."

"Snap out of it!" Kodama kicked her to him.

"R-Right. …Um… I would love to go out with you… Jinta-kun…"

"Oh… well, that's great."

"…Is there any place… you had in mind?"

"It's meatball sandwich day up on Moonbase. I've tried those, they're pretty good. Wanna go up?"

Kodama made a gagging gesture. "Meatball sandwiches?" Ururu's whispery voice asked. "That sounds so… romantic!" Kodama stared at her in disbelief. "When do you wanna go?"

"Oh, I dunno… how 'bout right now?"

"S-Sure! Right now is great!"

"Great!" Jinta smiled. "So let's go!"

After paying for their chocolate, Jinta took Ururu's hand as they left the shop, with the girl joyfully skipping. "Um… why do you have balloons on you?"

"O-Oh!" Ururu blushed. "Just… helping Kodama."

"Don't you wanna stay and help?"

"N-No… she's scary."

KND Moonbase

Jinta ordered a large meatball sandwich for himself and a small one for Ururu. The boy was happily munching his sandwich, not caring about the ketchup dropping down his chin and shirt. Ururu merely held her sandwich and watched him. Her date acted oblivious to good manners, as if he didn't care he was on a date. But then again, they were friends for years, so maybe Jinta thought his behavior wouldn't bother her. Though, if Jinta wanted to ask her out, she thought he would act a little more nervous. Or maybe he was, he was just too cool to show it.

"Hey, yer burger's drippin'." Jinta said through chews. "You gonna eat or what?"

"Oh. R-Right." She blushed. "Ahhh…" She only put the edge of the sandwich in her mouth and bit. Only the bread bit off.

"Ururu, take bigger bites or you'll never finish it." Jinta snickered. "What, is your mouth too tiny to fit a single meatball?"

"I usually eat small and soft foods." she said. "I'm not used to bigger bites."

"Then why did you want one?"

"Well, because… you were treating me, anyway, and… I didn't wanna betray your kindness."

"Well, if you don't want it, then I'll eat it." Jinta finished his in one more bite. "Manly men like me need their meat." Ururu allowed him to take hers and begin eating.

Ururu giggled and watched him do away with the smaller sandwich quickly. Despite his non-romantic nature, this was what she liked about Jinta, his confident and individualistic personality. It still made her wonder why he wanted to ask her out. What did he see in small and sensitive Ururu. Unless Jinta had a sensitive side that only Ururu would understand.

"So why did you decide to ask me out so suddenly, Jinta-kun?" she decided to ask.

"I…I dunno." He looked like he was trying to think of a reason. "I guess I just wanted to see how this plays out."

"Oh… I see." Ururu replied. She kind of felt the same way, truthfully.

"I'm kind of surprised you agreed to it. How come?"

"Well, you asked." Ururu smiled and, as usual, blushed. "And you were buying me chocolates. I didn't want it all to be for nothing."

"Okay." He shrugged. "For a second, I thought it was because you liked me."

"Hehe. You're the one who asked me out. Someone usually doesn't do that unless they like the other person."

"And the other person wouldn't agree to it unless they liked the first." Jinta smirked.

"Hehehehehehe." She giggled in her cute, whispery voice. The two stared at each other for a minute, Jinta's playful smirk and Ururu's sheepish smile. "…" Ururu flushed harder and looked at her empty food tray. "But secrecy aside, it's pretty obvious what's really goin' on."

"Oh… It is?" He stared at her questionably.

"Yeah. I mean, why else would we be here, right? Hahaha."

"…Well, I'm glad it won't be so awkward, then!" Jinta smiled coolly, folding hands behind his back.

"Hmhm, nope! Not at all!" He's trying to act cool, but of course he likes me! To think I was so worried this morning…

"So, Jinta, since we're already out, do you wanna do something else? See a movie, go to a park, or… something?"

"Hmmm…" Jinta raised a brow and tapped his chin. He grinned deviously. "You know something I always wanted to do?"

Washington; behind the White House

The White House was a lot bigger than it had been 20 years ago, and so was the yard around it. Jinta Hanakari was crouched behind a bush, snickering as he held a baseball ready. "Jinta-kun, is this really a good idea?" Ururu's squeaky voice came from his earpiece. The tiny girl was standing on the baseball.

"Why not? You've ridden my baseballs a few times, Ururu."

"No, what I mean is, this is the American President's house. Wouldn't this be considered an international crime?"

"Hey, he's the loser that marches into other countries and conquers the hell out of them. But if a president went crazy over little kids playing baseball in his yard, it'd be pretty funny!" He chuckled. "You just play your part and be the micro-size bullet."

"I'm still not sure…"

"You said his office was on the 4th floor, right?" Jinta asked. Ururu nodded. "Great! Okay, hold on tight!" Jinta stood up eagerly and grabbed his large bat. Ururu clasped the baseball tight with the suit's long fingers. "I'm going for the home run!" Jinta tossed the ball up, and Ururu's screams rang in his earpiece when he hit the ball and sent them flying to the 4th floor window.

The ball smashed through and landed on the floor. Ururu shook back to her senses and viewed around the giant office. She flapped her suit's bat wings and flew up to view the president's desk. "He's not here. That's good."

"Ah, lame." Jinta said through the earpiece. "Bu' we can still leave him surprised. Tear it up, Ururu!"

"Sigh…" Fast as a bullet, Ururu began ricocheting around the office, piercing and tearing up everything. She destroyed the phone on the desk, pelted the stapler multiple times to squirt out all the staples, tore up the picture of the president's wife, the one of George Washington, then tore up the books on a desk. There was a poster of a one-eyed triangle being above the door: Ururu cut within the borders of the triangle's body, causing it to fall out of the picture, and expose a code in the barren spot on the frame: QDPH'V ELOO. VHH BRX ODWHU!

"WHAT'S ALL THAT NOISE IN HERE?!" Ururu flinched when the president himself burst in. She flew down, grabbed Jinta's baseball, and flew out. "What the-?!"

Jinta excitedly leapt and grabbed the ball while Ururu landed on his shoulder. "Nice goin', Ururu! Heeheehee, he'd never suspect!"

"YOU DIRTY KIDS! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I'M EVICTING ALL YOUR FAMILIES!"

"PAAAAAH hah hah hah hah!" Jinta cackled as he kept running. "You know, Ururu, with that suit, you're like the ultimate prankster!"

"Jinta-kun, if it's alright with you… do you think we can do something I wanna do?"

"Alright. Whaddo you wanna do?"

Karakura Park

The sky was still cloudy from last night's rain, and the ground still wet. There was sunlight poking through areas in the clouds. Jinta and Ururu sat on a bench and stared at the grass, with little droplets that were reflecting the sunlight. "I just love how grass looks after it rains. It makes it seem more alive and happy. You know?" Ururu spoke.

"Yeah, but the mud gets more squishy, and it sticks to your shoes, then your mom gets mad 'cause she has to clean 'em. You know, I heard Americans are allowed to wear shoes in the house. Heh, I bet they track mud all the time!"

"Hehe… Yeah, but look at the positive side of it. All the plants get fresh drinks of water and can live to provide more oxygen to we humans."

"You're starting to sound like that Nature Goddess freak."

"Except I'm not trying to kill all humans. Hmm… Speaking of being positive, look at the puddles." She pointed at a nearby puddle.

"Yeah, what about 'em?"

"It's so reflective. It's like a mirror. If our Negatives were peeping into the same puddle, we could cross worlds."

"They probly are. Haven't some of the sectors mentioned their Negatives appearing?"

"Yeah, but none of them have been doing any damage like Cheren's Negative awhile ago. I wonder if our Negatives would have switched personalities?"

"Pfft, you'd meet your dream guy, then." Jinta snickered.

"Mmmm…" Ururu smiled softly. "No. He would be the opposite."

Jinta raised a brow at this comment. With that, Ururu rested her head along his chest, closing her eyes and releasing a calm sigh. "…Whaddoes that mean?" Jinta asked.

"Hmhmhm! You're so silly, Jinta-kun." She continued laying on his chest like a pillow, and Jinta simply let her, still confused. The chirping birds and the thumping of his heart was a lullaby, drawing her to sleep. Today felt like a dream… spending romantic time with the boy she loved. Any moment, she expected Jinta to lay his head on hers, embrace in the softness of her smooth black hair. Then they would share the same dream, where they were lying in a flower field, and-

Pooooot. Ururu startled awake when Jinta released a fart. "Sorry." Jinta said. "The meatballs are catching up. In fact, I've kinda been holding it in 'cause I didn't wanna gross you out; but you don't mind, do you?"

"N…No…" Ururu replied, sad that the wonderful moment was gone just like that.

"Good, 'cause I really need a bathroom. Or maybe I'll just go in the bushes and blame it on a dog. Ah well, I'll be right back." Jinta got up and hurried off. Ururu sighed through her nose and lay down on the bench, arms folded under her head.

Sector JP Treehouse

The two friends were walking up the mountain path on their way back to the treehouse. "See, I told you our shoes would get muddy." Jinta said.

"Hehehehe." Ururu blushed for the buhmillionth time today. "In spite of the questionable parts, I really enjoyed this date, Jinta-kun."

"Uhhh… yeah, me too." Jinta said, looking confused as to why she used that word.

"Maybe we can do something else together later."

"It's not like we don't do things together all the time." He laughed.

"I mean just… you and me by ourselves. You've kinda been having so many contests with Karin-san lately, so I sort of thought…"

"Yeah, she just can't get enough of me." They entered the treehouse and walked up to the living room, slipping off their shoes. "Maybe this will finally end it."

"End what?"

Karin was on the couch playing a game, Kodama was fixing a firework to shoot out the balcony, and Yuzu was cooking in the kitchen. Jinta walked up to his leader and told her, "Okay Karin, I went out with her, do I win now or what?"

"Huh? Oh, you're back." Karin looked up. "Sure took a while. Alright, sure, whatever."

"J-Jinta-kun… What are you two talking about?" Ururu asked. Kodama looked over at them curiously.

"Hm? I'm talking about our Truth or Dare game. Karin dared me to ask you out and not tell you I was on a dare."

Ururu felt her heart shatter like glass. She felt her breath stop for a second. "D…Dare?"

"Um… yeah."

"…But… I thought you asked me out… because you liked me…"

"Uh… no, not really. I thought you knew, Ururu. When you said it was pretty obvious, I thought it meant you were on to our dare, like Karin told you in secret or something. …You mean you actually thought it was a for-real date? Hwell, this was pretty awkward." He forced a laugh, smiling passively. "Eh, no hard feelings, right? It's just goofing off like the usual activities."

". . . . ." Ururu's purple-blue eyes were wide and still. She said nothing for several seconds. "I…I need to be alone." Ururu walked to her room without turning back.

Kodama ran up to Jinta and kicked him in the shin. "AHHH!" He jumped on the other foot and gripped his knee. "What the hell, Kodama?!"

"You can be so dense sometimes, you know?? I've never seen Ururu more happy than the moment you asked her out. You don't just grab a girl's heart and throw it on the ground like a priceless vase!" She dashed off to the hallways.

"Okay, not that I'm like that, but why would a logical person throw a priceless vase on the ground?" Jinta asked.

"Because no vase has more price than a girl's heart!!" Kodama shouted, then kept running.

Jinta, Yuzu, and Karin merely looked their direction with confusion. "Wow, Jinta. Way to get two girls to hate you with only a few simple words." Karin remarked.

"Sigh, Ururu's overreacting." Jinta brushed off. "She'll get over it in an hour or so."

Ururu's room; one hour later

Ururu lay on her bed with her hand beside her on the pillow, and her legs curled up. Her special, private room that she went to when she was so depressed. Of course, no one could tell the difference between this expression and how she usually looked. But the fact was, Ururu was sad, and she didn't want to be bothered. Too bad Kodama saw where she went. "Ururu, you've been laying there for an hour. Get up or you'll get a bedsore."

"I don't want to, Kodama-chan. Leave me alone."

There was a gigantic black eye peeping into the dollhouse window. "Well, that bed can't be very comfy in there." Kodama said, crouched so as to look in and see her friend. "Isn't it plastic or something?"

"I made it so no one would bother me in here. It's nice and quiet."

"But it's on the floor. What if someone trips on it?"

"Kodama, is Ururu still in here?" Karin asked, walking in with Yuzu and Jinta.

Kodama sat up and responded, "She's inside her dollhouse and she won't come out."

"You talk to her, Jinta." Yuzu told him.

"Alright." The red-haired boy walked over and knelt beside the dollhouse, while Kodama stood and backed away. Jinta picked up the house and shook it. "Ururu, quit acting like a baby and come outta there!"

"JINTA, stop that!" Kodama smacked him in the head. "She's upset 'cause of you!"

"What? It's not my fault she thought it was an actual date. I don't even see what she's upset about."

"Jinta, the fact that Ururu agreed to your supposed 'date' means that she liked you. A lot. She was so happy that you asked her out, and you crushed that happiness when she learned it was just a dare."

"How is that MY fault?! Karin's the one who dared me, why don't she talk to her."

"Rule 35 of Truth or Dare:" Karin rose an informative finger. "The darer is not responsible for the consequences of the daree's actions."

"Jinta, you need to go in there and talk to her." Yuzu said. "This is probably more than just a misunderstanding, and I think only you can make her feel better."

"You're right, Yuzu." Jinta replied with an 'Are you serious' stare. "I'll just pull the roof open and climb on in her tiny house."

Kodama had begun looking in Ururu's closet the moment he said that. "Aha! Here it is!" She grabbed a jar of green dust. "You can shrink with this!"

"Whoa whoa!" Jinta raised hands in protest. "I never agreed to-" Kodama dumped the dust over him without warning. His body glowed, and he decreased in size within seconds.

"Technically, ya did."

"YAH!" Jinta fell on his rear when Karin stomped her foot beside him.

"Now get in there and cheer up Ururu. Or I'm gonna make your life miserable."

"Okay, FINE! But for the record, this makes all three of you look fat!" Jinta marched into the dollhouse and slammed the plastic door.

"We'll give you two some privacy!" Yuzu waved happily. After a moment, the three crouched down and put their ears close to the little house.

"Okay, Ururu, I'm here." Jinta said after entering the room. "Just what're you so upset about? I'm sorry you didn't know it was a dare."

"Sure, Jinta, make HER seem at fault here."

"BUTT OFF, Karin!"

"Jinta-kun…" Ururu sat up and sat on her knees on the plastic bed. "Do you like me the same way I like you?"

"Sigh… Probly not." He looked down guiltily.

"Do you like Karin?"

Jinta glanced at the window, seeing a familiar, narrowed gray eye. "I'm starting to not like her in general."

"Jinta-kun, be serious!"

"No, I don't like her! Ururu, why are you making a big deal out of this? It wouldn't matter if I liked you or not, it's not like we would get married! I mean, we're kids, if we started going out, we'd get over each other in like a month."

"You didn't read the stories from 20 years ago, did you?" Yuzu echoed.

"Frankly, the romance scenes in those stories were the only parts I hated!" Jinta yelled angrily.

"Jinta, this isn't just because you tricked me." Ururu said with a tone Jinta assumed was angry. Also, her eyes were slanted in such a fashion. "But I'm wondering if you respect me at all. I wonder if I'm just a tease to you sometimes."

"Come on, Ururu, I respect you. You've always been my best friend."

"Not the same way you respect Karin, I bet."

"Why is this suddenly about Karin?!"

"Because-! …" Ururu wasn't sure how to answer that, either. "Sigh, I don't know. I guess I just want you to admire me… in the same way you admire Wallabee Beatles, or Nigel Uno, or Ruby."

"Ruby?"

"Maybe I just feel… unappreciated. You always fight with Karin or Ruby because they're strong girls who give you a challenge, and I'm just the small and sensitive girl you like to pick on. The same girl you had to shield from bullies. Even after I made the Tiny Devil suit to show you I can be strong in my own way, you… don't really pay as much attention to me as you do with Karin, Ruby, or any tough girl."

"…Oh…" Jinta looked away, feeling a bit guilty. "Well, if you wanted to hang out more, why didn't you ask?"

"…" Ururu looked away, "Because I didn't wanna bother you."

"…Ururu-" Jinta walked over.

DOOOOO-DO-DOOOOO, DOOOO-DO-DOOOOOO!

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" Jinta and Ururu clamped their ears shut. "WHAT IS THAT?!"

"KODAMA!" Karin shouted, smacking the harmonica out of the girl's hands. "What the heck are you doing?!"

"Just wanted to help the mood with some emotional music." She blushed.

Jinta huffed with annoyance, stomping over to sit beside his friend. "Ururu, I'm sorry for tricking you before. And I'm sorry if I don't pay enough attention to you. But… I honestly feel more comfortable around you than anyone else. I feel like you're the only person that understands me. I always thought you were more used to my… boyish habits, so that you didn't mind them."

"Well…" She looked up at him, "I guess I am. I didn't even mind that you did those things during our 'date.' You're just being you, Jinta."

"Yeah, I know!" Jinta smiled. "If anything, I think of you… like a little sister."

"Oh. A sister, huh?" She frowned again.

"…That's not the answer you wanted to hear, huh?"

"No. I mean, I like to be someone you can be yourself around… but I still wanna be someone you admire like an equal."

"Well… How do you want me to do that?"

"I don't know… Can you tell me anything that you like about me?"

"Well, you're… pretty. I'm sure a lot of other boys would fall for you."

"I guess." Ururu blushed. "But I don't want them to like me just for that."

"You're also really smart. You made me a cool baseball bat," Jinta smirked, "and you made a shrink suit that totally kicks butt! Heh heh heh, I always love it when you're tiny and beating up bad guys! They're like, 'Ow, ah, what the heck happened?' getting their butts kicked by a tiny fly! Plus, you're like the ultimate prankster in that suit!"

"Hm hm hm hm!" Ururu smiled. "Yes, I am a little proud of it. A shrink suit does help a lot. …You wanna know why I built the Tiny Devil?"

"Yeah?"

Ururu faced down and tapped the tips of her fingers together. "The truth is… sometimes I just want to hide and be alone. Whenever I get really embarrassed or upset… I'd like to be able to shrink down and let it blow over me. If I could just shrink and hide in a hole, no one could laugh at me, I wouldn't get in anyone's way, and no one would feel burdened by me."

Jinta looked around the room they were in. The room in the dollhouse Ururu shrunk herself to hide in. "I know how you feel… When Karin beat me in that tournament, I would've liked to shrink down and hide from all those laughing girls." He blushed. "I think everyone feels that way every now and then. But if you were small, no one would be able to find you and comfort you. Your friends would wanna hold you and… make you feel big. I would like to hold you…"

Ururu blushed again and looked at him. "I would like to hold you, too. I never felt very big when I was around you, because you're so brave and strong. But we really do have something in common, Jinta-kun. We're both pretty small."

"HA HA HA ha ha ha ha ha!" Jinta hugged his chest and swung his legs. Karin, Yuzu, and Kodama heard the pun and smiled at their lighthearted moment.

"WAHAAA!" The door to Ururu's room (the normal one) burst open, and the other three JP members whipped around to see their intruder. "Kids Next Door Sector JP, tremble before THREEZORE!" He was a three-headed Nighlok demon. "By order of Lord Hannibal Bean, I am here to take back the Yin Yo-yo, and destroy you in trying!"

Karin, Yuzu, and Kodama towered over the six-inch Nighlok, staring at him confusedly. "Duh, what are they staring at?" the dumb head asked. "Is there something on my face?"

"Well, there better be something on your face." The funny head proclaimed. "Otherwise, there'd be NOTHING! Huh??"

"What the heck is that thing?" Karin asked.

"Oh, my! It's the weirdest toy I've ever seen!" Yuzu bent down and happily picked the monster up. "But it's soooo cute!" She hugged it.

"NOOO! We are not cute!" the smart head yelled. "We are a terrific Nighlok warrior who once served King Malladus! We were in charge of guarding this very treehouse 20 years ago!"

"But Sector JP didn't have a treehouse 20 years ago." Yuzu said with a quizzical expression.

"They probably just tricked you here because you were useless." Kodama said with a witty smirk.

"Tricked us?! For your information, we proved a very deadly force for the old JP!"

"Yeah, right." Karin remarked. "What, did they take you out with a broom?"

"No! Because we did THIS!" Threezore shot his two suction tentacles to Yuzu's and Kodama's heads. They both wore blank expressions as he appeared to be sucking lumps of something through his arms, and Yuzu released him to the floor. The tentacles detached as the two girls moaned.

"Who am I…" Yuzu asked groggily. "Why do my words sound like gibberish?"

"Why is this knot around my head?" Kodama asked, tugging her large red rope-knot. "Is my hair sewed onto my body?'

"Your memories are like tasty orange juice to me!" Threezore exclaimed. "My health is your poison! AAHH!" The Nighlok was stomped under Karin's foot.

"I'm glad you like juice, 'cause that's all you'll become when I squish your body flat."

"Oh, yummy!" the dumb head said. "I wonder if we'll taste like grapefruit- uuuoooohh!" Karin applied more pressure.

"For your information, we DO like juice! Brain juice helps us grow big and STRONG!" Threezore increased in size, and was able to push Karin off of him. He hopped to his feet and shot a tentacle at the Sector Leader, sucking her brain. "Ha ha HAAAA!" Threezore grew to their size. "With our superior size, we will squashify this entire treehouse for the Yin Yo-yo!"

"Oh, crap!" Jinta exclaimed. "What're we gonna do like THIS, Ururu?"

"Maybe you can't do much," Jinta turned and saw she was fixing on her Tiny Devil, her expression serious, "but this is what I'm trained for."

Ururu flew out of the dollhouse, pushed her left wrist button, and puffed to normal size. "So, Snoozezore. You think you're so great because you're big and tough, huh?"

"DUUUUH! It's a giant bat!" the dumb head yelled.

"I would call you Batman, if you weren't a girl!" the funny head joked. "Get it?"

"Oh, lay off it, you two!" the leader head ordered. "And yes, we DO like being big! Why wouldn't we wanna be big? Being big means we're STRONG!"

"Guess again." Ururu pushed the right wrist and shrunk in an instant. Threezore launched his tentacles, but the Tiny Devil swiftly dodged, then pierced their three necks like a bullet. She zipped back and forth, puncturing holes everywhere in their body. Threezore began to electrify.

"Look, guys! We're electricking!" the dumb head said. "Does this mean we'll blast off like a rocket?"

"I've heard of short gigs, but this one was literally tiny!" joke head joked.

"I wish they paid more for our BUUUUDGEEEEEET!" And with that, Threezore exploded. The energy from Karin, Kodama, and Yuzu's memories flowed back into their bodies.

"Whoa, what just happened?" Karin shook.

"I feel the need to make lame puns and provide mediocre acting!" Yuzu exclaimed.

Ururu puffed back to normal. "You had your brains sucked up by that weird-looking monster. It was no trouble, really."

"YEAH!" Jinta cheered from the dollhouse. "That was awesome! He was all, su-lurp, and then you went, PEW, PEW, PEW PEW! I wish you guys had the brainpower to appreciate such an awesome battle!"

"Awe, Jinta-kun." Ururu bent down and smiled blushingly at him. "I'm unworthy of your praise."

"Yeah, but you're gettin' there. And I'd praise you even more if you biggify me."

"Hmmm… but you're kind of cute this way, Jinta. I think I wanna play with you."

"Ha ha, Ururu, just hit me with a grow ray or something."

"Dude, you know we aren't gonna pass this up." Kodama smirked. "We're girls and you're a boy. You should have expected this. I'll go get the makeup!"

"I'll get the baby food!" Yuzu ran off.

"I'll get the camera." Karin was off, too.

"AAAAAUUUGH! You all tricked me into this!!" Jinta screamed.

"Revenge is a dish best served small." Ururu winked. "You've gotta respect me for that."

"Come on, Ururu! Pleeeeeaaaaase?"

"Hmhmhmhmhmhmhm!" Ururu would enjoy her time as the bigger, stronger person.