The Tiny Samurai's Big Adventure (and Even Bigger Ego)

The sun peeked over the horizon, and a gentle breeze swept across the hill, rustling the leaves and making the water in the nearby lake shimmer. I stretched my arms and greeted Zag with a big yawn. "Morning, short stuff."

Zag, sitting on my shoulder in his tiny form, smirked. "Morning, giant stick. How's the weather up there?"

I rolled my eyes. "Perfect, thanks for asking. How's life down in fun-sized land?"

He pouted. "Fun-sized? You mean perfectly compact and efficient, thank you very much."

With that, we both headed to the lake to wash up.

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Now, taking a bath with your sword-turned-human can be an interesting experience.

Zag stood at the edge of the water, dipping his tiny toe in like he was testing lava. "You sure this lake doesn't have any monsters?"

I grinned. "Nah, worst-case scenario? You get swallowed by a fish. But hey, you're already bite-sized, so it's a quick death."

Zag scowled. "Hilarious. Truly. You're a comedic genius."

We both splashed into the water, and I couldn't resist cracking a joke about his less-than-intimidating size. "Hey, try not to drown in the shallow end, alright?"

Zag shot back without missing a beat. "I'd be more worried about you. With those long legs, you might trip and drown standing up."

Touché.

After we finished up, we sat on the shore, both wrapped in towels, letting the sun dry us off. Just as I was about to relax, Zag spoke up with a weirdly serious tone.

"Hey, I've been thinking... I want to be a real human."

I blinked at him. "Pfft—what? Like, full-size? Walking and talking? Not just... shoulder decoration?"

"Yeah." He nodded earnestly. "I wanna be your little brother, Ron. Just take me to the nearest town and admit me into a school. Let me live like a real person!"

I stared at him. "Dude, this isn't some fairy tale. You're not Pinocchio."

He crossed his arms and huffed. "I'm serious! Make me a real boy!"

I smirked. "Fine, but first, there's a tiny—and by tiny, I mean massive—problem."

"What is it?" he asked, clearly eager.

"First, maybe hear me out before jumping in headfirst?" I teased, but he was too impatient.

"Whatever it is, I agree!"

I sighed, shaking my head. "Alright, fine. But just so you know—if you become human, you'll have a lifespan. You won't be immortal anymore."

Zag didn't even hesitate. "I'll take it!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you really want to experience being late on rent and paying taxes that badly, huh?"

"Hurry up and do it before I change my mind!"

"Alright, alright!" I stood up and cracked my knuckles. "But remember—when I do this, your soul will be split into four forms. Your pendant, the ring, the tiny you on my shoulder, and your actual human body."

Zag grinned. "Sounds awesome! Let's do it!"

I rolled my eyes and performed the spell. A swirl of magic surrounded Zag, and suddenly, POOF! In front of me stood... an actual human-sized version of him.

He was around 5'10" with the same brownish hair and cute, samurai-esque face. Well, he was yet short cause I am 6'2. Meanwhile, the tiny version of him still sat perched on my shoulder, looking equally as smug.

I grinned down at him. "Well, would you look at that. You're *still* shorter than me."

Zag crossed his arms. "By only four inches! And it's quality over quantity!"

I smirked. "Sure, sure, keep telling yourself that, shortie."

Zag huffed but soon got distracted by his reflection in the water. He struck a few poses, flexing his arms like he just walked out of a fashion magazine.

"Damn," I said with a smirk. "You look exactly like your samurai self, but now... even cuter."

Zag turned bright red. "Cute?! I am dashing, thank you very much!"

I patted his head. "Relax, bro. So, what's next, huh? You gonna find yourself a nice lady, get married, and make me an uncle or what?"

Zag's face turned even redder. "W-What?! No way! I'm just getting started!"

I grinned. **"Come on, go get yourself a bride. Make a brother-in-law for me while you're at it."**

"I-I-I'll think about it!"*l he stammered. Then he narrowed his eyes. "What about you? When are you gonna settle down, huh?"

I shrugged casually. "Me? Nah. I'm too good for commitment."

Zag smirked. "Too good or too scared?"

I flicked his forehead. "Watch it, samurai boy."

We both laughed, feeling the fresh morning breeze brush against our skin.

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After that little transformation experiment, we packed up and got ready to leave the cave behind. Zag, now in full-sized human form, walked beside me while his tiny version still sat on my shoulder.

I couldn't help but laugh. "You're basically a buy-one-get-one-free deal now."

Zag rolled his eyes. "Hey, look at it this way—you'll never be lonely."

"Yeah, but now I have to buy extra food," I groaned dramatically.

He grinned. "I eat for two, just so you know."

"Great. My wallet's already crying," I muttered.

As we walked, Zag suddenly blurted out, "I call dibs on the top bunk wherever we stay!"

"Whoa, slow down, we don't even have a place yet!"

"Details, details," he waved me off.

With our usual banter and the excitement of a new adventure ahead, I couldn't help but feel that having a tiny sword-turned-human-turned-annoying-little-brother might not be so bad after all.