[center][img]https://i.gifer.com/2r5w.gif[/img]
Level 5: 33/50
Location: The Maw
Word Count: 845
Points Gained: 2
New EXP Balance--- Level 5 : 35/50 [/center]

	Eventually, Sakura managed to overcome her ragdoll inducing despair. A kid who must have been young Link reassured her that they would not get eaten. And maybe she was being a bit dramatic, but this was seriously scary. Sakura pushed herself unsteadily to her feet. This felt so wrong. She barely even remember being this young. Taking a stance, she cupped her hands together.

	[color=f49ac2]"Hadoken!"[/color] Nothing. If anything- it actually hurt to try and draw upon the fire of her soul. Like squeezing an empty tube of toothpaste. Her body wasn't prepared to expulse Ki. She knew the technique but had none of the training. Her shoulders sagged and her head dropped. She hadn't been unable to do that since she was 15. That was only 3 years ago, but for someone her age that was a significant portion of her life time. And she had spent 2 years before that trying to learn how to do it!

	She slapped herself on the head and tried to pull herself back up into higher spirits. She had just survived a battle, after all. It would be stupid if this was the thing that broke her morale. But it wasn't just that, was it? This place was capital E evil.

	The little girl turned to the groups resident robot. [color=f49ac2]"Blazermate...we're all kids! You're the only one who isn't! I don't know what we're gonna do. We all got KOed and now we're kidnapped. We're [i]literally[/i] kidnapped. And now, I've got no powers, and I'm stuck in the body of a dumb kid who only wanted to eat chicken nuggets and ice cream!"[/color] She exclaimed miserably.

	[color=f49ac2]"Mister Geralt?"[/color] Sakura said as a foul-mouthed boy introduced himself. He looked a lot different. It kind of made her sad. He was a little kid once, too, before he lived his long and difficult life. No scars, no yellow eyes, no white hair. [color=f49ac2][i]"Ma..."[/i][/color] She murmered looking down at the bed beneath her. She didn't have a plan for him. 

	Sakura hadn't the wherewithal to re-introduce herself, but who she was was thankfully obvious enough.

	Things only got worse. Soon they all re-grouped.

	Nadia spotted her and Sakura pouted. [color=f49ac2]"Oh, yeah. I'm adorable."[/color] That really wasn't the kind of thing she wanted to hear right now. After a moment she sighed, smiling faintly.

	[color=f49ac2]"...Thanks, Nadia, I guess. My mom loved to dress me up."[/color] She fondly brought a hand up to the flower and ribbon in her short brown hair. The hair style was identical to the one she had as an adult. 

	 They had a long way to go. Nadia said there was monsters below, and Peach said there were monsters above. At this point, Sakura was starting to tremble. She tried to take a few deep, calming breathes, but it sounded closer to hyperventilating.

	Backing up away from the edge of the bed, she retrieved a large pillow like the others had done. With a little toss she sent it below, landing on all the junk.

	 [color=f49ac2]"I used to play the floor is lava. My little brother g-got mad at me because I would always cheat. Like this."[/color] Sakura whispered. She went back and grapped a second pillow, and tossed it down next to the first one. With a quiet squeak of a yelp she lowered herself off the bed and hopped down. Sakura took a moment and steadied herself. She grabbed onto the fabric of the king bed, waiting to scramble back up incase the monster came for her. It didn't, thankfully. 

	Then, she grapped the second, large pillow with both hands. She set it down infront of her and stepped onto it. Then she crouched down, grabbed the first pillow, and set it down infront of her. She repeated this process once more to demonstrate. Slow, steady steps. No jumping required. Which was good, because Sakura wasn't sure she could make many jumps.

	[color=f49ac2]"S-see? We had to ban this strategy." [/color] Little Sakura said up to the others with a weak smile. 
	
	Then she kept going, making a small one girl path forwards across the room to the exit. After a little bit she sat down, putting a hand over hear thumping heart to catch her breath. [color=f49ac2]"You guys keep g-going. I'll c-catch up."[/color] 

	She waved the more adventurous and brave of the Seekers ahead of her. There were probably much quicker ways of going if someone wanted to take risks. Sakura did not want to take any risks. For the first time in a long time she didn't feel confident that her body could do the things she asked it too. Since she was a kid, she knew she could hold her own weight, and she had extra bones. That was it- and it wasn't a reassuring thought. If she was just a tiny version of Sakura, she would be doing all sorts of crazy cool jumps and parkour. But she was just a normal, middle class kid with all of her baby teeth still in.