Internal Struggle
 
By Minako Tomoka
 
A Noein: To Your Other Self Short Story
 
 
 
  Today had not been going well for Haruka Kaminogi. Ever since discovering her destiny as the godlike, otherworldly artifact known as the Dragon Torque, which sometimes appeared clamped around her neck, she had been relentlessly pursued by the Dragon Knights of Lacryma and the invaders of Shangri-La alike.
 
  However, today seemed to be going relatively normally for Haruka- until she got a surprise in the form of a tall, skinny, sadistic Dragon Knight known as Atori. That alone was terrifying enough...except for the fact that a stray pulse of quantum energy struck her in the back and knocked her face-first into the grass.
 
  When she pulled herself up...she was not the same. The blades of grass surrounding her now stood nearly as tall as she did. The entire world around her seemed to have doubled in size. Haruka sucked in deep breaths, her heart pounding. What had happened to her? Why did she feel so...small? As Haruka scanned about in a panic, she flinched at the sensation of harsh vibrations in the earth beneath her. A massive shadow blocked out the sun above her, and a loud, bellowing voice soon followed.
 
  "My, will you look at that," Atori rumbled, gazing down at the little girl, who now happened to be a bit littler than usual. "You were supposed to get blasted into dust, but now you`re the size of a doll...how strange. But still, it should be much easier to catch the Dragon Torque now that it`s so small...right?" A wicked, fanged grin spread across the blonde Dragon Knight`s pale face. The Dragon Torque couldn`t escape from him now...
 
  In the meantime, Haruka was shuddering violently. Seeing the monolithic Atori looming above her made her break out into a cold sweat. The terror froze in her veins like ice and locked her in place. Her dead voice couldn`t even work up the energy to scream. This was no illusion. Haruka had indeed been shrunk down by whatever hit her from behind before...and now she had to contend with a gigantic, psychotic Dragon Knight. But at the moment, she couldn`t even summon the will to move.
 
  Atori took a step forward, rattling the ground surrounding Haruka. He grinned from ear to ear as he bent down, reaching a pale, bony hand down to the girl to snatch her up. "You`re mine now, Dragon Torque..."
 
  Haruka seized up at the sight of the massive hand coming down to grab her, but the sudden pulse of horror gave her a jumpstart to escape. Snapping out of her terror trance, she bolted to her feet and took off, racing through the grass. This could not be happening. It just couldn`t. She begged for her precious Yuu, Karasu, anyone- to come and save her from this. Atori`s heavy footsteps echoed behind her, and his tall, eclipse-like shadow snapped at her.
 
  He didn`t even bother to run after her. He`d just let her scurry around like a little worm, and by the time she inevitably wore herself out, he`d have no resistance. He was able to keep a steady pace after her just by walking. On the open ground of the forest, Haruka had no chance of outrunning Atori. Just one of his steps equaled about ten of hers, and a well-placed one could squash her into a bloody pink mess. But what would he do once he caught her? That tempting question excited him more than anything else.
 
  Sure, he could just step on her and squish her like a bug, but that`d be no fun. He wouldn`t even get to hear her scream. He wanted something more painful, more enjoyable, more...personal.
He pondered to himself. Hmm, how do giants usually dispose of their victims anyway? Aside from mangling them beyond recognition, they usually got cooked up and eaten for dinner. While cooking was out of the question, devouring little Haruka wasn`t. Eating the Dragon Torque as a snack...what would the High Council of Lacryma think of that? How would Haruka scream as he sank his fangs into her? The thought alone was enough to give him shivers. He licked his lips. His stomach growled in response, and so he decided to take his time and allow his little meal to tire herself out.
 
  As for Haruka, trying to outrun the blonde giant pursuing her was quickly proving fruitless. Even as she raced at top speed, all she could do was look back behind her and shudder as Atori grew ever closer, and she grew ever more exhausted. She couldn`t keep this up much longer. She`d have to stop eventually...and when that happened, it was all over. Out of options, she bolted behind a nearby tree and pressed her back against it, gasping for breath. Fear was a well-known tool for turning even the slowest people into world-class athletes, but the sheer difference in size between Haruka and Atori was too great for even adrenaline to make much of a difference.
 
  Atori`s earth-rumbling voice shook her bones. "Oh, Dragon Torque? There`s no point in hiding from me, you know. Come out, won`t you?" Taunting his tiny prey was an enjoyable experience, but his stomach begged to differ. If he had to wait much longer to devour this little pipsqueak, he was going to break something. Like her bones. Luckily for him, Haruka decided to make a run for it. Bad idea. She bolted out from behind the tree and took off as fast as her feet could carry her...but it wasn`t fast enough.
 
  As soon as Atori caught a glimpse of the little purple-haired girl, he raised his foot and stepped on her, pinning Haruka down on her stomach. She squirmed and writhed, digging her fingers into the dirt, struggling to pull herself forward. It did nothing. The blades of grass she grabbed at were simply plucked out of the ground. She could not pry herself out from underneath the Dragon Knight`s boot. "S-stop it!" she shrieked. "Get off of me! Let me go!"
 
  Atori sneered and dug his heel into her a little harder, grinning at her cries of pain. "I`m afraid that`s not going to happen, Dragon Torque. You`re mine, and I`m not letting you get away from me again. I'm feeling a bit peckish...you wouldn`t mind being my snack, would you?" He bent down, slowly lifted his foot, and grabbed Haruka by the waist, pinching her between two fingers.
He lifted her up to his eye level and teasingly licked at her face. "You look tired, little one. Wouldn`t you like a rest...in my belly?"
 
  Haruka shuddered. "You...you`ve got to be joking! You`re going to eat me!?" Atori`s eyes gleamed. "Do I look like I`m the joking type, my dear?" He held Haruka loosely clasped in his fist and nibbled at her, leaving bruises and red marks on her skin with his teeth. It took every bit of willpower in him to not just bite down and drive his fangs into her on the spot. She was a tasty little morsel, after all.
 
  He opened his jaws wide, allowing Haruka to gape in horror at his fanged maw. Curved, pointed teeth framed his mouth, dripping with goopy, spiderweb-like strands of drool. The back of his throat slightly pulsed as his unnaturally long tongue emerged from the depths and searched Haruka once more, drenching her in sour-smelling saliva. She squealed at its slimy touch and attempted to push it away. "C-cut it out! I`m not food, I`m a person! I don`t wanna be eaten!"
 
  Atori snickered. "Then it`s your unlucky day, isn`t it, Dragon Torque?" He placed his hand at the base of his open mouth and tilted it upwards so that Haruka would slide into his jaws.
She shrieked and clung to his fingers, whilst his tongue lapped at her legs and bound around them like a tentacle, threatening to drag her into the abyss. Her grip grew slippery due to all the saliva she was being soaked in. She couldn`t hold on for much longer. Haruka squeezed her eyes shut. Please, she begged, let it end fast...
 
  Just as she was about to give in and let herself be gobbled up, a single black thread shot out of seemingly nowhere. It wrapped around her body, sealing her up in a cocoon-like enclosure.
It happened so quickly, even Atori didn`t have time to react.
 
  One moment, Haruka was about to slide down into Atori`s gaping jaws, and the next, she was sealed in total pitch-black darkness. In that lightless cocoon, everything was silent and still.
No sight, no sound, not even the sensation of movement. Just a tiny, cramped black void. Haruka instinctively curled up to contain her shivers, now more frightened than ever. Sure, she had been saved from being eaten alive- but by who?
 
  After what felt like seemingly hours trapped in darkness, a distant, yet familiar voice called out to her. "It`s okay, Haruka." One by one, the threads binding Haruka began to unravel. Like a candy in a wrapper, she rolled out of her unbinding enclosure and fell onto a bed of black fabric. She instinctively snuggled into it because of the chills wracking her body. She felt so tired and feverish, she didn`t even notice what she was lying on- not at first, anyway. The voice called out to her once again. "Haruka, wake up."
 
  The girl slowly stirred out of her daze. "W-who`s that...?" She felt the warm, squishy surface beneath her shift slightly. The sudden movement sent a jolt to her heart, and she craned her head upward. A pale, red-eyed face framed by long, wispy white hair greeted her, smiling softly. A hollow gasp escaped her. Looking upon the full length of the massive being`s body, she soon realized who had saved her. A single word left her quivering lips. "K-Karasu..."
 
  Memories of Atori came rushing back to her. She let out a frightened squeak and turned away, preparing to run, but Karasu pressed his index finger down on her back to hold her still.
"P-please...please don`t hurt me," she muttered, shaking like a leaf. Karasu gently ran his finger across Haruka`s back, trying to calm her shot nerves. "Don`t be afraid, Haruka. I`m not going to hurt you." Haruka sniffled, "Karasu...tell me...why did I get so small? Is there any way to change me back to normal? Please...I don`t want to be stuck like this forever..."
 
  "You won`t," Karasu assured her. "Atori hit you with a blast of quantum Raizu particles. Under normal circumstances, the molecules in your body would explode and you`d turn to dust after being hit by such an attack. But the Dragon Torque must have protected you...it compressed the molecules of your body instead of destroying them, and you ended up in this state. It doesn`t last forever, you should grow back to normal after a couple days. But still, you are vulnerable. I don`t trust your friends to be able to take care of you. Not only that, but now that you`ve shrunk down to this size, it released a temporal shift that will most likely alert the other Dragon Knights to your presence. You were lucky I was able to get to you in time before Atori devoured you."
 
  Haruka let out a sigh of relief. "Ahh, that`s good. Thank goodness, I thought I was gonna be tiny forever." She clung to the fabric of Karasu`s cloak and climbed up the length of his body.
She grabbed at a few hanging tendrils of white hair and hung on, dangling in front of Karasu`s face, even though it was still a little scary to look at him directly. He could eat her up in one bite just as easily as Atori could, even if Karasu wasn`t as mean as the latter. Her reflection shone in his narrow, blood-red eyes. "S-so...as long as I stay with you, I`ll be safe, right?" she asked.
 
  Karasu held still, trying not to accidentally fling the hanging Haruka from his hair. "As much as I`d like to say yes, not quite. Yes, you are safe with me, but your presence is now exposed to every being from Lacryma and Shangri-La currently in this dimension. I`d imagine Atori will probably be back to catch you as well. If you were on me while I got into a fight with one of the other Dragon Knights, I don`t think you`d survive. However, there is one place where you will be completely safe and hidden from outside eyes."
 
  Haruka blinked. "Where is that?" Karasu`s gaze locked on the little girl. He didn`t want to do this, but it was the only choice he had if he wanted to keep her safe. "Do you trust me, Haruka? You have to promise to not be afraid." Haruka smiled at him. "Of course I trust you. I wouldn`t be afraid of you."
 
  Without saying another word, the Dragon Knight tilted his head back, allowing Haruka to fall onto his face. "W-wha...what`s going on?" she stuttered. Karasu`s red eyes looked like massive glass balls. She could hear the swish of his eyelids and feel the heat of his breath. Her feet landed upon his lips, and he slowly parted them, letting the little purple-haired girl slowly slip into his mouth.
 
  At the touch of Karasu`s hot, sticky salivate, Haruka`s heart leapt into her throat. She gulped. "K-Karasu, you`re scaring me..." He couldn`t exactly reply with the girl stuck in his maw, so he simply decided to continue on and hope he could calm her down afterward. It was for her own good. Haruka`s feet tickled the back of Karasu`s throat, and it retracted slightly, opening up to grab hold of his meal. He gave a gentle swallow, and his throat muscles clamped down on Haruka`s legs. She let out a squeal as she felt herself being pulled downward. Fear brewed up in her, and she began to squirm. "K-Karasu, stop it! Let go of me!"
 
  By then, she was already too far gone to escape. Her legs were jammed halfway down Karasu`s throat, and she was gradually being sucked in further. She grabbed at his lips, panting, summoning up all of her upper body strength to drag herself out. It wasn`t working. "Karasu...please!" she begged. "Why are you doing this!?" Seeking to end her fear as quickly as possible without hurting her or crushing her in his throat, Karasu took a deep breath and swallowed hard, sucking her directly into his maw.
 
  Haruka flailed about in a panic, grabbing at the base of his tongue to keep herself away from the bottomless pit below her. The wall of fleshy muscle clinging to her lower half rippled and pulsed, grabbing at Haruka to draw her down into the abyss. She couldn`t believe it. She was being swallowed whole like a piece of candy by Karasu, the one person she thought she could trust. First Atori, now Karasu? Why? Why was she being eaten alive? Did Dragon Knights just happen to have a fancy for swallowing tiny, helpless creatures?
 
  Karasu`s throat muscles ate her up to her shoulders, where at this point, she was utterly powerless to escape. Hot tears boiled up in her eyes and flooded down her face, mixing in with the sweat and drool drenching her. She screamed out and sobbed, but her cries fell upon deaf ears. The poor little girl stood no chance against the sheer strength of Karasu`s body. She cried out one last time. "Please...don`t eat me-"
 
  Her begging was abruptly cut short by Karasu`s final gulp. With that, she fully slid down into his throat. The rippling walls of muscle tugged on Haruka`s tiny form as Karasu continuously swallowed to force her down. He tried to gulp her down as quickly as possible, but that plan was dashed by all her panicked flailing and struggling. Feeling the tiny girl squirming within his throat made him feel sick. She was his precious Haruka, the one he`d do anything to protect. He didn`t want her to cry or be scared, especially of him. He wanted to reassure her, but that would have to wait until she got down to his stomach. He couldn`t exactly talk with her lodged in his esophagus. Karasu gently pressed on the bulge in his neck, guiding Haruka down to his belly.
 
  In the meantime, Haruka had given up on her pointless struggle. She couldn`t scrabble her way back up, no matter how hard she tried, and no amount of begging or crying would save her. She was being eaten, and that was all there was to it. She sniffled loudly, shuddering at the thought of what was to come next. If she was going to be eaten by someone, at least it was Karasu. But now, she was nothing more than a snack, an insignificant, squirmy little treat being shuttled down to his depths.
 
  When Haruka reached the end of her long journey, she slipped out of Karasu`s throat and landed with a splash in his belly. Haruka crawled to her knees, gasping for breath. The crushing pressure had finally been relieved from her body.
 
  Now, though, the reality of her situation sank in. The slimy, squishy chamber she ended up in wasn`t massive, but it wasn`t incredibly cramped, either. It gave Haruka just enough room to move around, stretch her legs, and even stand up if she wanted to. She expected to feel the burn of stomach acid, but right now, she sat in a pool of harmless, yet thick and sticky clear fluids.
 
  By far the strangest aspect of the slime-coated chamber was that it didn`t look much like a normal stomach. At least, from general assumptions. Rather than pink or red, the walls were a deep black, pulsating with a gossamer bluish light that emanated from further inside Karasu. It dimly illuminated the dark place, preventing Haruka from being shut in total pitch-darkness. It may have been sticky, slimy, and rather gross, but it was very soft and squishy, not to mention remarkably warm. To Haruka, it almost felt...somewhat comfortable.
 
  But at the same time, she knew what this meant. She was in Karasu`s stomach. She`d been eaten alive, gulped down whole like a gumdrop. She was more than old enough to know what digestion was, and even if she didn`t, she knew well enough that anything that got eaten usually never came out. At least not alive, anyway. She clawed at the walls of Karasu`s belly, begging to be set free. "Karasu, let me out of here! Please...I don`t want to be food!"
 
  Karasu leaned back, taking in a deep breath as he finally ended the arduous process of swallowing Haruka. Eating someone may have sounded simple enough, but when they were around five inches tall, terrified, and squirming everywhere, gulping them down turned out to be a slow and painful ordeal. His throat was sore. Karasu gingerly poked at his belly, tensing up at the sensation of Haruka writhing within him. At least she made it down unharmed.
 
  "Don`t be scared, Haruka," he reassured her. "Don`t worry, you`re not going to be food. I do not require much nutrients to sustain my body, so my metabolism is very slow. My stomach won`t begin the process of digesting you for at least two days. Right now, this is the safest place you could be."
 
  "B-but...why?" Haruka stammered. "It was so scary...why did you have to eat me?" Karasu stayed firm on his position. "As I said, it was the best option I had to protect you. The Dragon Knights became aware of your presence after you shrunk down, but now that you`re inside me, they can`t locate you or track you down. At your tiny size...they could easily kill you. I will not allow that to happen. How do you feel, Haruka? Are you still scared?"
 
  Inside Karasu`s belly, the booming sound of his voice echoed all around her. She shook her head. "N-not...not really. I was afraid at first, but now I understand...so it`s not so bad.
I just feel...really tired...and cold...but at least you`re warm..."
 
  She laid down on her side and snuggled up, absorbing every last bit of heat she could. Her skin felt as though it were on fire, but her insides were chilled to the bone. She felt weak, like her muscles had melted into mush. She didn`t want to move. "I...I think I`m running a fever..."
 
  Karasu stroked his cloak-covered middle. "It`s alright. You don`t need to worry about anything, you`re safe with me. Just lay down and get some rest." Having Haruka inside him felt...rather strange, yet comforting, in an odd way. Haruka was completely his. She couldn`t run off or get snatched away, she couldn`t be harmed, and she could always be with him. In a bizarre fashion, he kind of enjoyed having such power over her, to protect her and keep her safe. No one could touch Haruka except for him. She practically belonged to him now. Although it was only temporary, he was tempted to keep her there, at least as long as he could.
 
  On the other hand, Haruka was just trying to stay awake. She still felt sickly, and although Karasu had assured her that she would be safe, that wasn't enough to entirely kill her fear.
If she fell asleep, she might not ever wake up. So she pressed up against the side of Karasu's belly, intently listening to the deep sounds echoing all around her. His diligent breathing, the metronome-like thump of his heartbeat, and the occasional rumbling of his stomach. A small smile crept onto her face. "You must have been pretty hungry, huh?"
 
  Karasu felt a bit embarrassed to answer. "Y-yes...in fact, I was. Actually, you`re the first proper meal I`ve had in almost a week..." After hearing that, Haruka couldn`t help but feel bad. Had he been starving himself? Maybe Dragon Knights just normally didn`t eat very often. Perhaps it was why Atori was so eager to sink his teeth into her. With all the discussion about food, a strange thought entered her mind. "So, Karasu...was I tasty to you? I hope I didn`t taste bad or anything..."
 
  "O-of course not," Karasu stuttered, blushing slightly. "Strange as it may sound...you were actually delicious. How would I put it...you were very sweet, almost like candy, but at the same time, you were so juicy and meaty..." His mouth watered at the thought. A bit of drool leaked down the corner of his mouth. He quickly wiped it away and recomposed himself. "S-sorry, I must sound like a monster. I do still have to let you out of there, after all."
 
  Haruka wasn`t sure whether to be amused or afraid by Karasu`s vivid descriptions of her flavor. She probably should have never asked. If she kept tempting him any more, he might not ever let her out, or he might just try to snack on her again some other time. "I wonder what my friends are doing...they`re probably wondering where I am. My mom`s out of town...she won`t be back for a couple of days, but still..."
 
  At least there was that. Haruka`s mother was a nice person, but the last thing Karasu wanted was to hack up her daughter in front of her. Hopefully Haruka would have already grown back to normal by then. "You should probably try to sleep now," Karasu piped up. "If you need anything, just let me know. You don`t have to worry about me. I will be awake." Haruka yawned loudly. "Oh...okay then..."
 
  With nowhere else to go and nothing to do, she scrunched up into a little ball and drifted off, lulled into the clutches of sleep by the sound of Karasu`s steady heartbeat. She slept the rest of that day and all through the night. Even into the next day, she mostly slept. There wasn`t really much else other than that to do when you were running a fever, and even less you could do when you were trapped in the belly of a Dragon Knight along with it.
 
  On the opposite side, Karasu was wide awake the entire time. He didn`t sleep very much anyway, mostly because he didn`t really need it, but more because he was always afflicted by nightmares whenever he tried to. More often than not, his mind was vacant, lost deep in thought. He had failed to protect the Haruka from his dimension. He watched her die. Even after all these years, those nagging, dark memories never left him. Because of that, he made it his duty to protect the Haruka of this dimension at any cost- even if it meant eating her alive and essentially holding her hostage inside his own body.
 
  The next morning was dark and deathly quiet. Karasu stood up and lifted the heavy folds of his cloak, exposing his pale abdomen. Looking from here, it didn`t seem like he had eaten Haruka at all. She was so tiny, she didn`t even make a bulge in him or anything. Anyone else would have been none the wiser. He didn`t want to disturb Haruka, but he didn`t want to find out she`d been digested either, so he slowly poked at his belly to get a rouse out of her. "Haruka? Are you awake?"
 
  The purple-haired girl within him began to stir. She rose from her deep sleep and mumbled, "I...I'm awake now..." She swallowed and winced at the dryness of her throat. It felt like a matchbox. "I`m so thirsty...can I have some water?" Karasu took a sigh of relief. She was still alive, thank goodness. "Of course. Anything you want."
 
  Karasu headed downstairs to the kitchen, where he poured a glass of water from the tap. He looked at the glass and frowned. Well, he had no other way to give it to her. He gulped down the water as quickly as he could, swallowing hard. Even something as simple as drinking could possibly endanger Haruka`s life.
 
  On the other side, Haruka was soaked by a sudden crash of water. She`d been damp the entire time, but now she was soaked to the bone again. She couldn`t really complain, though. Karasu did give her what she wanted. The water he swallowed had pooled up around her in a shallow puddle. With no other way to gather it, she scooped up up the water in her hands and drank sip by tiny sip.
 
  Despite the relative grossness of the situation, just a few sips returned life to Haruka`s shattered, exhausted body. She greedily drank up as much as she could. "Haaah...thank you, Karasu.
I feel so much better now. I think my fever`s gone down." Karasu smiled. "That`s good to hear." Haruka yawned. "Ahhh...how much longer do I have to stay here? I mean, it was kinda nice at first, but I`d like to get out of here soon..."
 
  Karasu gently patted his belly. "Don`t worry, Haruka. It won`t be much longer. I haven`t sensed any other Dragon Knights in the area, so it seems that my plan worked. I don`t think they`ve recognized your presence. It should be safe for you to come out soon. Just hang on a little longer, okay?"
 
  Haruka gave a slow nod in return, even though she knew full well that Karasu couldn`t see it. "Ohh...just a bit longer, then." She pulled away from the shallow pool of water that had gathered and curled up, preparing to get some more sleep before Karasu finally hacked her up out of there. Just before she drifted off, a low, yet unnerving rumble rippled through Karasu`s gut. Admittedly, Haruka had heard many strange sounds during her time here, but this sounded a bit...different somehow. It was enough to jerk her up out of half-sleep. She rubbed her tired eyes, her heart pittering a little. "K-Karasu? Are you still hungry?"
 
  The white-haired Dragon Knight became very wary of the sudden trembling in his guts. Oddly enough, he didn`t feel hungry at all. It was strange that such a small meal would satiate his appetite for this long, but then he remembered that his stomach hadn`t yet started the process of digesting its food. If that were the case, it could only mean one thing... He clenched up, keenly aware of the frightened little girl writhing about in his digestive system, and silently waited for whatever was to come next. If this got any worse, he`d have to let her out early...
 
  In the meantime, Haruka`s mild fear gradually grew into terror. No response from Karasu was not a good sign. She crunched up into a scared little ball as another loud rumbling echoed through the cramped chamber. She was in Karasu`s stomach, after all. It was only a matter of time until nature took its course...
 
  Haruka felt a sharp tingling on her skin. It wasn`t incredibly painful at first, but it prickled her, like cactus spines. She didn`t yet know whether or not it was a result of her paralyzing fright or something else. She slightly withdrew and put her hand down, where her palm splashed into a small puddle. It burned her on contact. Haruka reeled back, wincing in pain. "Owww..."
 
  She glanced down. A pool of thick, soupy yellow liquid pooled around her body...and it was rising. It came out of nowhere, and she couldn`t tell where it was coming from either. One moment, she was lying in a warm, squishy chamber, and the next, she was surrounded by rapidly rising gastric fluids. The harsh, tingling liquid crept from the tips of her toes up to her ankles in a matter of seconds.
 
  She gasped in terror, jaw slacked, as the knee-high socks she wore began to dissolve before her eyes, revealing exposed bare skin. Knowing exactly what was happening, Haruka flung herself into a panic. She sloshed about through the flooded area and scratched at the slick walls of Karasu`s belly, begging for his attention. "K-Karasu! Please...you have to let me out of here NOW!" she shrieked. "You have to hurry, I`m going to drown!" In the amount of time it took her to do all that, the stomach acids had already crept up to her waist.
 
  Haruka`s panicked cries immediately snapped Karasu to attention. It only took him a second to realize what was going on. How could he be so stupid? He had to do something- and quickly, or else his beloved Haruka was going to become lunch. "H-hang on, Haruka!" He rushed to the kitchen sink and hunched over it. He stuck his index and middle fingers in his mouth, prodding his gag reflex.
He choked and sputtered, spitting up streams of rancid water and fluids. Despite the unpleasantness of the whole situation, he jammed his fingers further down his throat in an attempt to vomit.
It wasn`t going to be pretty, but he had no choice but to get Haruka out of his system now, before she was digested alive...
 
  Inside of his stomach, Haruka was struggling to stay afloat in the ocean of acids rising around her. It had crawled up to her neck by this point, and it showed no signs of stopping.
Each twitch drove nails of pain through every inch of her body. Was this it for her? Was this how she was going to die- as Karasu`s snack?
 
  In the meantime, Karasu`s desperation had morphed into frustration. He just couldn`t get her out of there, no matter how much he gagged and choked. He started to panic. He couldn`t lose Haruka like this. Karasu swallowed her to protect her, not inadvertently kill her. He had already let the Haruka of his own dimension die, there was no way he was going to let this Haruka perish in such a horrible way. In one final, desperate attempt, he shoved his fingers down his throat as far as his hand would allow.
 
  At last, it worked. That hard prod stimulated his gag reflex enough to open the floodgates of his body. His innards recoiled as his stomach rejected its meal, forcing it back up into his esophagus. He managed to drag Haruka back up into his mouth, and he spat her up into the palm of his hand. The poor girl was drenched and shaking, parts of her pale skin visible from where the stomach acids had dissolved her clothes, but she was still alive, and thankfully hadn`t been crushed by his throat muscles on the way back up. She was horrified, but safe, much to Karasu`s relief. "Haruka...are you alright? Oh, I`m so sorry..."
 
  Haruka was in a daze. Being nearly digested and then promptly vomited up took a heavy toll on her mind and body. She didn`t even want to move. She simply stared up at the monstrous Karasu looming over her, lungs heaving up and down as she laid sprawled in his palm. "I...I`m okay...I`m just...tired..." Tears flooded over the threshold of her eyes and dripped down her delicate cheeks. For the past two days, she had been thrown from one terrifying situation to the next. She just wanted it to all be over. Breaking into a fit of chills, she sniffled, "Karasu...can you please...just hold me? I`m so cold..."
 
  The Dragon Knight immediately complied with her request. "Of course. I`ll do whatever you want." He rinsed her off in the warm tap water, dried her off with a small towel, and wrapped her between the folds of his large black cloak, holding her close to his chest. "It`s okay. You don`t have to be afraid anymore. I`m right here, and I`m not going anywhere. You don`t need to worry about a thing."
 
  Karasu whisked her away to the living room, where he set himself down on the sofa and leaned back, allowing Haruka to relax and fall asleep. He closed his eyes and drifted off along with her. When he woke up, he discovered a normal, full-sized Haruka lying in his lap, curled up like a kitten. He smiled and gently ruffled her hair. "Welcome back, Haruka..."
 
 
 
The End...
February 25th, 2018.