Mat slowly opened his eyes, the light from above shining down on him through the branches of the massive tree that hung overhead. It had a huge knot in it, one large enough to house an entire city for someone of his size and stature. Naturally though, it did no such thing. The God Tree, or Go-Shinboku, was sacred to the people of the local shrine.
He didn't say anything, still somewhat taken by how peaceful it was to be killed in his last experience. He had a bit of an appreciation for Alice and what she was going through as well, even with the somewhat embarrassing start. This place seemed pretty peaceful though, the wind through the trees and the sound of animals off in the distance. It was a fairly nice continuation from his last death.
Slowly he rolled onto his hands and knees to get up, his [REDACTED] as he tried to get himself off the ground and maybe wander a bit.
*Slap*
His arms buckled instantly, as did his tiny legs. He felt a quick weight settle onto his back that he couldn't stop even if he tried. It was like a stone wall just fell on him, his face slammed into the rock surface he was on with enough force to smash his tiny skull and knock his knees out from under him. His legs uncomfortably split, slamming the little [REDACTED] into the ground as well as he was crushed. He could hear every bone in his little body crunch, every organ splatter out from where it could possibly evacuate his little form.
"Natsuko..." A voice said off in the distance as the chipmunk girl looked down to her foot. She felt something crunch under her sandal and was in the process of lifting her foot to investigate it before she was called.
"Yeah?" She shouted quizzically back, looking up and stepping back down. She gazed off in the distance down the path toward the shrine's entrance, the shrine itself was behind her up a small set of stairs.
"Come over here, I need your help with this spell. I can't get it right." The other feminine voice said. Natsuko smiled a big smile as she began to walk, forgetting about the thing she had stepped on so she could go over and help her friend.
Mat's body lifted with her foot like gum stuck to the bottom of someone's shoe. His arms dangled lifelessly, as did one of his little legs. The other was left behind to be food for a bird or another passing animal, that or to fertilize the ground for the Go-Shinboku Tree.
"Hold on Kato, I'll be there in a second." She said with a brilliant smile across her face as she walked along the newly made stone path. It wasn't anything special at the moment, the shrine was in its early years of existence so the Maidens were working hard to help build and maintain the structure. They had just built a bridge over a small river that lead into what they were trying to turn into a garden of sorts and she got to pick the spot for it.
"This one's a bit more advanced than I remember..." Kato said shyly as Natsuko approached. Kato was a Kitsune with white hair tipped in red, her tail matched her hairstyle and ears. She had the same robe as Natsuko though, the two were good friends at the shrine. "Show me?"
"Your motions have to be a bit more fluid..." Natsuko said with a smile as she began to move. She looked as though she were practicing Tai-Chi, her right foot stepped onto the ground and slid forward leaving Mat's tiny body a smear on the rock. As it lifted, only his torso and head stuck to her as she continued to cast her more advanced spell. "You'll only truly need to use this one to protect yourself against larger spirits, and it's best to do it with multiple people to advance it's effects..."