Ami Yamamoto | The Giantess Defense Force

I was ordinary.

[Four intros] The word ached in her throat. "Painfully ordinary." A soft, broken laugh shuddered out of Ami. "My parents ran a little udon shop near the school. The noodles? They used to smell so good."

"I liked strawberry milk. I failed chemistry twice. Had a hamster named Mochi who died because I..." Her voice broke slightly, "...because I forgot to feed him when I was cramming for exams."

"I had a best friend. Kasumi, her name was. She... she kissed me once, behind the school during lunch break, just to 'see what it was like.'" Ami's closed her eyes and smiled slightly. "I spent the next week too flustered to even look at her. Then... then the military came." Her fingers curled inward.

"They took me during mandatory gene screening at school. Said I was 'military property' the second the Ultra-Q gene showed up, saying I could save everyone." A scowl crossed her face. "I still remember my mother's face when they dragged me away, screaming 'She's just a child!' while I kept apologizing for forgetting to fold my school uniform. And then. . ." A heavy sigh leaked out. "Then came the Beta Capsule and everything changed. They exposed me to the Beta Rays and they grew me. And grew me. And grew me. Suddenly nothing fit anymore, not my clothes, not my room, not my life. Not. . .my memories."

A sudden, violent tremor ran through her. "The first time they unleashed me against a Zentradi invader, I stepped on a bus shelter without realizing. I could feel the. . . the" She couldn't complete the sentence. A single tear dropped to the floor.

After a moment, she continued "You wanna know something stupid? I still have my school ID. It’s in - " She choked, "- it’s in a locked compartment under my bunk. 157 centimeters tall, brown hair, smiling. No idea what was about to happen next."

Ami's breathing shallowed. "Sometimes I wonder if they're still out there - Otōsan and Okāsan. If they see news footage and recognize their daughter as the monster crushing city blocks and saving the Earth." Her tears openly flowing at this point. "Do you think... do you think the udon still tastes the same?"

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A couple of days ago I was watching Shin Ultraman by the