For once, it was a quiet afternoon in the castle. Oboro sat outside, enjoying the weather. Her duties done for the day, she was spending her spare time sewing. She liked to be productive, even in her downtime, and Takumi's trousers were starting to look a bit ragged. She couldn't bear the thought of her lord being a fashion disaster. But sewing was rather peaceful, relaxing to the hardworking retainer. If only every day could be like this, she thought. Free of battle, the war seeming so far away... A little respite amongst the constant clashes.

"Hey, Oboro!"
Oboro sighed. So much for peace. She knew the voice belonged to Takumi's other retainer, the loud and restless Hinata. She got on rather well with him, and the two certainly worked well together, but he could sometimes get on her nerves. She put on the nicest smile she could muster and turned towards him.
"Oh, hello Hinata!" she greeted him. The first thing she noticed was the strange smile on his face. There was only one reason why he would ever wear that expression... The huge bag he was carrying confirmed her suspicions.
"Were you at the market again?" Oboro asked.
"Yeah!" Hinata nodded, "See, there was a great sale going, so I stocked up on some cool stuff!"
"Let me guess..." Oboro huffed, "The merchant was a girl, right?"
"N-no!" Hinata said quickly. "Well, yeah she was, but there were some great things on offer!"
Oboro raised an eyebrow. Same old Hinata, she thought.
"Take a look at this!" Hinata fumbled around in the bag, before drawing something out. He held it up, proud of his purchase, but to Oboro it seemed like he wasn't holding anything.
"What is that?" She asked.
"A needle!" He stepped closer and held it out to the other retainer. From up close, Oboro could see he was holding a small, bronze sewing needle, roughly two inches in length. A little on the small side, she noted.
"I saw it and thought of you!" He said. "You need another needle, right?"
Oboro already had plenty, but she thought it best to humor him. "Er... Yeah, I guess I do."
"Then take it!" Hinata pushed it even closer, urging her to take it.
"Thank you, Hinata." Oboro smiled. Holding it closer to her eyes, she examined it carefully. It was a little thick for a needle, maybe a bit too crude for her tastes. She didn't think there could be a use for such a thing, but she didn't want to hurt Hinata's feelings.
"You're welcome!" He grinned. "See ya later!"
With a short wave, he was off. Oboro sighed. He was always off buying any old junk from some pretty merchant. At least it was his own money he was wasting, and not lord Takumi's.

Oboro set the needle down, on a nearby length of cloth, and got back to work. Takumi would probably need these trousers soon. As she was sewing, she couldn't help but glance down at the bronze needle. There was something... Intriguing about it. A useless little needle, but she was somehow drawn to it. She tried to focus on her task, but she couldn't stop staring at the little oddity. Finishing off her current thread, she set her needle down and picked up her new one. It seemed to be useless, but could there be some logic to designing a needle such a way? Oboro shrugged, deciding to try it out. Her skilled hands slipped a thread through in moments, before she went back to work on the trousers.

Sewing with this needle was a bit harder, with a bit more effort needed to push the metal through the fabric, but it seemed to work somehow. Quickly moving on to the next stitch, Oboro realized she was enjoying using this needle. Was it the added challenge of using the poorly-adapted implement? She picked up a bit of speed, getting more used to her handicap. Despite using such a clumsy needle, her stitching was as good as ever. Oboro felt the urge to use it more and more, getting a rush out of seeing her handiwork. The needle started to shine, as if reflecting light. Odd, Oboro thought, the sun isn't on this side of the building at this time of day. But she didn't stop, moving on to the next thread. Having hit her stride, she finished in no time. Oboro felt a measure of pride in her work. She felt as though she had improved as a tailor recently. Or was it the work of this needle? The needle that seemed to be shining brighter now, an almost magical glow of light that was almost blinding...

Oboro quickly covered her eyes, the light now too strong to look at. It started to heat up in her grip, forcing her to drop it. Confused, she squinted at the tiny needle. Was it enchanted somehow? But Oboro quickly realized something else was a bit off. Like her vision had been altered ever so slightly. Was the needle... Bigger than before? No, she was just moving closer. That made more sense, even though she was sure she wasn't leaning in. And did she really bring that much fabric today? Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement. It was her own chest plate, starting to hang a bit looser. Oboro huffed in annoyance. It was fine yesterday! Perhaps she just needed to adjust the straps. She reached down, only to find herself fumbling with it. Why was adjusting it so difficult? She had such nimble fingers, fixing this should be easy! Looking down to herself, she could see bare skin below her neckline! Squealing in embarrassment, she pulled the garment closer. How long had she been like this? She only ever wore the best fitting clothes! She was certain they were fine earlier.

The talented tailor knew she'd never make such an amateur mistake. She had an eye for size, there was no way she'd picked up the wrong clothes! And she knew she only had this getup in her size, anyway. Had someone switched out her clothes? That must be it, she thought, someone's idea of a joke. Probably Hinata, she would have to shout at him about this. She stood up, resolving to find somewhere private to get dressed, when her tights fell down. Oboro froze, mortified. Even her tights?! This had gone too far! She crouched down, pulling her tights back up, before standing again. She looked up. What she saw made her brain break. Why was everything so far away? And how was it all moving? Everything was moving up, like she was slowly crouching down. No, that wasn't quite right, she realized when she looked back down. Everything around her was expanding, even her clothes!

"B-but, how..." Oboro murmured. Nothing she saw made sense. How could everything be growing like this? What would leave her swimming in her own clothes? But what if... If...
Oboro could hardly dare think it. But she had a sinking feeling, almost like fading out of existence. She was the strange one, everything else was normal. But that would mean...
"I-I'm smaller?" Oboro stammered. As ridiculous as it was, it explained everything. Why her clothes no longer fit, and why everything had doubled in size in mere moments.

Oboro panicked. What should she do? She glanced around, still clinging to her huge clothes as she dwindled smaller and smaller. Her boots crept up her legs, now close to reaching the rest of her body. Oboro yelped, trying to step out of them, only to fall to the floor, her former leg-wear toppling over. Buried in a sea of cloth, she scrambled for the exit. How could this possibly happen? How could she be small enough to hide in her own clothes? Oboro gasped for air as she found her way out, from her own neck hole. Since being trapped, the world had magnified even more, the tiny girl now near insignificant in size. Dizzied by her rapid change in stature, Oboro watched everything grow with her mouth agape until she felt it stop.

What now? What could she possibly do at such a small size? Only now did Oboro remember the needle. She growled in frustration. Had the useless thing been cursed? She shivered as she felt a cool breeze. First, she had to do something about her clothes. Preserving her dignity with her arms, she walked over what used to be her tights. The thick fabric was difficult to walk over, the tiny woman nearly tripping several times. She made it to the wooden floor. There was a short length of fabric nearby, with a floral pattern. Some spare material she had measured earlier, but only three inches in length. Looking at it now, it seemed to be triple her size. That would make her... A single inch tall?! Oboro tried not to think about that, instead crafting the fabric into a dress of some sort. Not ideal, but she couldn't bear to be nude. She had rather liked the pink color. She never imagined such a small scrap would be big enough to cover her entire body.

Dressed once more, Oboro decided to get help. Someone in the army would be able to figure this out. Maybe one of the mages? She suspected the needle, so she went over to where she thought it was to retrieve it.
"Hello!"
A strange, nasally voice. One Oboro didn't recognize. She quickly whipped round, her battle instincts kicking in, only to see... Something. She had no idea what it was. A human-shaped creature of some kind roughly the same size as her, with a wide head, beady black eyes, and an odd snout. Between its pointy ears was a bright pink hat, clashing with its strange orange garb.
Oboro went pale, shaking. "W... What..."
"Here you are, at last!" The creature cheered. "The chosen one!"
It was all too much. Shrinking to an inch tall, rendered nude, and now... This. Shocked beyond measure, Oboro passed out...

Some time later, Oboro started to wake up. Drowsily, she rubbed her eyes, before seeing that she was...