Serena sighed, rolling her eyes. “Honestly, of all of the things which could possibly be beneath me….”

When the Society had tasked her with the duty to protect a Chinese venue, she’d expected something like a district. The angel received a food court.

“Who would possibly be interested in transforming others here?” She grunted, standing a full three feet taller than the average civilian around her. Luckily, a bit of magic kept anyone from looking at her for too long.

Unluckily, that didn’t keep people from bumping into her.

She winced as one of the passerby bumped into her, and the redhead prepared to verbally accost the soul. Much to her surprise; however, it was an elderly woman, with a kindly face.

“Here.” The woman lifted a small cookie, giving it to the angel. “It is a fortune, just for you.”

“Em. Thank you.” Serena replied stiffly, looking to the folded morsel. It was a small golden cookie, the kind of thing that she’d seen so many of the people around eating.

Well, it couldn’t hurt…

The angel cracked it open with a small smile on her face, seeing the little paper fortune inside. Humans could be so clever…

++To know a culture, look through the eyes of its youth++

… And abominably stupid at the same time. Serena chuckled, rolling her eyes at the mundane fortune. She crumpled it up and tossed it to the side, giving it no further heed. Which was something of a pity, given that if she had, she might have seen it combust.

The angel looked over the grounds with another sigh, wondering if it would be worth getting food. Immortal or not, she did still have needs like hunger.

Her hair began to darken as she moved to one of the lines, considering a hearty meal of what looked like the fried steak. Her skin began to tan as she shifted from foot to foot, stomach grumbling at the thought.

Or… Was it too much food? She pursed her lips, moving to the next stand. They had some futomaki rolls that looked nice, and she had a sudden craving for the sushi… The angel smiled, shrinking a full foot in her armor as her belly growled again.

Then a loud clang got her attention, and she looked down to find that her scabbard had fallen to the ground, taking her pants with them. She blushed madly, draping her wings to cover her person.

“What in the? Did it come undone?” She asked, only to finally notice that her form had been shrinking. “Wait, what!?”

Offense marked her tone as she dropped another foot, beginning to panic. The veil of magic around herself kept people from noticing her, but that didn’t make it any less embarrassing to be sans pants! She grabbed her combat skirt and tightened it securely around herself, grimacing as she saw that it now draped over her knees.

“Not good…” The angel muttered, only to blink in surprise. Wait… Shouldn’t she have been upset because she was changing? Why did nudity come to the forefront of her mind?

She didn’t have the answers to her own questions, instead finding herself preoccupied by a sharp sensation from her shoulderblades. She looked back and yelped in fear as her wings began to pull back into herself, the feathers molting from the limbs as they regressed.

“N-no! That’s impossible!” She tried to grab at them frantically, but her oversized armor restricted her motion.

All she could do was helplessly watch as her wings vanished, leaving her with an abominably human appearance. Serena glanced about in a panic, huffing as her shirt tightened on her chest.

The former angel looked down in shock, only to whimper as she realized she couldn’t see what was happening beneath her plate. Hurriedly, she fumbled at the straps, sighing with relief as the heavy chestplate dropped to the ground.

Then she squeaked, noticing how her shirt had become much tighter around her breasts, and that they were shrinking by the second. It was the oddest conflict of her life: she wanted the tight sensation to end, but she didn’t want her breasts to shrink anymore.

Worse yet, it was a conflict that was entirely out of her hands. In seconds, her proud bosom had regressed to a pair of buds on her chest, one that suited her shrunken stature well. It was like she was becoming younger, dwindling down until she looked like she was a teenage girl. And an Asian one, at that…

“What’s going on?” She asked, panicked. Her voice carried with it a distinctive foreign lilt, and she whimpered aloud. She had to call for help; try phoning The Society, try…

The girl didn’t know. Suri brushed some of her raven black hair from behind an ear, stepping out from her oversized boots in a daze. She didn’t notice as her socks grew to her thighs; or that a pair of boots formed on her feet.

Instead, she focused on the next stand in line, one that sold delicious fried pastries. The little girl pulled out a bunny-themed wallet from her skirt with a happy hum. “One takoyaki, please!” She chirped, all thoughts of who she was lost.

Suri picked up her treat with a happy hum, turning and walking back into the mall. She munched on it contentedly, glad that school was over for the day and she could have some fun.