03: The Tiny You Likes Low Skies

One week before the morning Naruse-san confessed to me—

A spring day in early April.

The students of Class 1-1 had gathered in their classroom for the first time after the entrance ceremony in the gymnasium. My name was Tochika, and hers was Naruse. The attendance numbers were mixed-gender, and she was the number directly following mine.

She was already in the classroom when I arrived. As I went to sit in the seat in front of her... I noticed the familiar face sitting behind me. It was the girl I had saved from being crushed on the train just a few days prior.

“Ah, hey.”

“Ah, about the other day... sorry for the trouble...”

It seemed she recognized me instantly, and we both gave rather awkward greetings. We didn't talk much beyond that, and I took my seat, but...

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

I was so shocked the words slipped out.

A high schooler...?

The "primary schooler" I had risked arrest to save back then? No, she wasn't a primary schooler. She was a high schooler. That tiny girl was actually the same age as me. I knew high school life would bring surprises, but I hadn't expected such a massive one right out of the gate.

I’d treated her like a kid... if I’d been unlucky, could that have actually counted as molestation?

“U-Um.”

“............!”

Tsuntsun. Naruse-san poked me in the back. My heart jumped, but I tried to act casual as I turned around.

“What is it?”

“Sorry, it’s just... it’s hard for me to see the front. Could we swap seats?”

“...Ah, I see.”

As luck would have it, I was in the very front row. If she wanted to swap, it was exactly what I’d been hoping for. For someone as short as Naruse-san, being in the front row was the only logical option.

“Sure. I’ll get the teacher’s permission later. Want to swap desks too?”

“We haven't really used them yet, so let’s just swap seats. Thanks, er...”

“Tochika.”

“Tochika... Tochika-kun, right. I’m Naruse Chito. Class 1-1, Number 22, height 140 centimeters, weight very light, graduate of Minami Middle School.”

“That’s a long self-intro.”

“We have to do self-introductions later, right? I was chanting it for practice. And, hey.”

“Yeah?”

“Sorry, I’m not a primary schooler. Surprise! I’m a high schooler just like you. Nice to meet you.”

“...Nice to meet you.”

When I replied, Naruse-san leaned in and gave me a bright smile. That was my "reunion" with Naruse Chito-san.

One week had passed since that shocking reunion.

“Mornin’ Chito! Tochika-kun!”

As I entered the classroom and headed to my seat, Naruse-san greeted me. She’d even gone to the trouble of standing up from her chair to do it. We’d just greeted each other in front of the school building, but apparently, she wasn't one to sweat the small stuff.

In the week since our meeting on the train and our reunion in the classroom, Naruse-san had already become close with my childhood friend and had blended into the class perfectly. She was currently in the middle of taking things out of her backpack. She used a large bag with two small, stylized dog plushies dangling from it.

“Good morning, Naruse-san.”

I gave a formal greeting before taking my seat behind her. She sat back down, too. Her tiny back was right in front of me. The seat swap she’d requested had been approved by the homeroom teacher, so this arrangement was now official.

I pulled out my phone to check my messages.

“Tochika-kun.”

“Hm?”

Naruse-san spun around in her seat.

“Tochika-kun, where’s Harukawa-san?”

“She ran into some friends from the volleyball club on the way and got caught up in a conversation, so I left her behind.”

“Oh, I see. Good, good.”

“‘Good, good’?”

As I tilted my head in confusion, Naruse-san leaned over toward me.

“Maybe she was being considerate so we could be alone together?”

“There are plenty of other people around us, though.”

The classroom was almost full of students now.

“I can only see Tochika-kun.”

“I can see quite a lot of other people, personally.”

“You’re so cold, Tochika-kun.”

For some reason, Naruse-san started rubbing her cheek against my desk.

“What are you doing, Naruse-san?”

“I just feel more relaxed when I’m looking up from a lower position.”

“I see...?”

I don't see at all. I had no idea what she meant.

“Actually, you know, this is even better.”

“Huh?”

Naruse-san usually sat on a cushion she brought to class. It was a cute one with a dog’s face printed on it. She suddenly tossed the cushion onto the floor. Then she hopped off her chair and sat down cross-legged on the cushion on the ground.

“Ahhh, so much better. I’m more comfortable the closer I am to the ground.”

“What kind of instinct is that...?”

It had only been a week since our reunion, but this girl named Naruse Chito was proving that her eccentricity was as great as her cuteness.

“Phew... this is the life...”

“Aren't you getting a bit too comfortable?”

While sitting on the floor, Naruse-san rested her chin on my thigh, her face looking like it was about to melt from bliss. Does a girl normally press her face against the leg of a guy she barely knows?

“Our classmates are going to get the wrong idea, you know.”

“Ah—they might think Tochika-kun is a degenerate.”

“That’s a critical hit to my reputation.”

High school had just started, and my social life was already over.

“It’s okay. Tochika-kun, you have a clean look to you. You don't look like a pervert. That’s an important distinction.”

“I’m not sure I can overestimate myself that much.”

If I stayed stuck to Naruse-san like this, the lolicon suspicions would be a certainty.

“Chii, you’re overdoing it.”

“Eh?”

Suddenly, a voice rang out. I looked up to see a gyaru standing by my desk. Long blonde hair, a ton of piercings, flashy manicured nails, and a skirt that was dangerously short—she was a gyaru through and through.

“Nono, Mornin’ Chito!”

“It’s not ‘Mornin’ Chito.’ Stop with the VTuber greeting.”

The gyaru shot Naruse-san a displeased glare. She looked like the type who suffered from low blood pressure. This was Satsuki Nonoa-san. Naruse-san simply called her "Nono." They were in the same class and had apparently known each other since middle school. I often saw them chatting happily in the classroom.

“Looking at you from down here, you’re even taller than usual, Nono.”

“Well, yeah, if you’re gonna sit in a place like that.”

Satsuki-san looked down at Naruse-san from on high. It wasn't just because Naruse-san was on the floor; Satsuki-san’s head was naturally higher than most. She was likely around the same height as the 175cm Luna, maybe even a bit taller.

“Ah, I can almost see your panties. Nono, isn't your skirt too short?”

“No idiot is going to try to peep from such a low altitude. Even if it’s you, Chii, I’m not letting you see for free.”

“Stop! Nono, you promised you’d retire from papa-katsu once you graduated middle school!”

“Don't be stupid! Being a JK is when the real work starts!”

“...Um, the rest of the class doesn't really know you guys yet. Aren't you worried they’ll think you’re serious?”

I could laugh off lolicon suspicions, but since Satsuki-san was such a hardcore gyaru, her words had a certain dangerous credibility. Sure enough, the surrounding students were starting to whisper.

“Oh, right. Sorry, Nono.”

“Whatever. I don't care what people who don't know me think.”

“So cool! I think I’m falling for you!”

“Yeah, yeah. I have no intention of going down the yuri route with you, Chii.”

Satsuki-san brushed Naruse-san off casually, then...

“Chii, you’re such a handful, and high school has only just started. Sigh...”

Satsuki-san let out a sigh and lightly ran a hand through her golden hair.

Whoa, that was an incredibly sexy gesture for a high schooler...! Satsuki-san wasn't just tall; her face and her overall vibe were remarkably mature.

“Look, Tochika is troubled. How long are you gonna keep your face on his leg?”

“Kyaa!”

Satsuki-san grabbed Naruse-san by the collar and hauled her up. She looked like someone roughly picking up a puppy or a kitten.

“Wagh! My sanctuary!”

“Sorry about that, Tochika. This girl’s sense of personal space is broken.”

Satsuki-san tossed Naruse-san back into her chair. She even went as far as to brush the dust off the cushion Naruse-san had been using on the floor. She was surprisingly kind.

“I met Chii for the first time in middle school, too. On the very first day we met, she sat on my lap.”

“Her way of closing the distance is pretty extreme.”

“Right? Ah, but it’s rare for her to take such a liking to a guy... actually, this might be the first time I’ve seen it.”

Satsuki-san lightly pinched and pulled on Naruse-san’s cheek.

“Well, as long as it’s Tochika, it’s fine. Well, make sure he dotes on you.”

“Yippee!”

“............!”

Naruse-san suddenly pounced on me in a hug.

Puni. Despite her height, I felt an unexpectedly rich sensation against my chest—

“Hey! That’s too much, Chii!”

“That’s overdoing it, Naruse-chan!”

“Luna? When did you get here?”

Luna had arrived in the classroom and, at the same time as Satsuki-san, began pulling Naruse-san away from me. It really was "overdoing it"—hugging a guy you’d only just become classmates with.

But wait, if that’s the case...?

“............”

Was Naruse-san’s "confession" that she liked me actually for real? I had been trying not to overthink it, assuming she just meant she liked me as a friend.

“Wait, Nono, Harukawa-san! I can't breathe...!”

In front of me, Naruse-san was being squashed just like that time on the train. She was sandwiched between the two tall girls, her head buried between their ample chests.

“No! You need to reflect on your actions, Chii!”

“I’m sorry, but I can't let Naruse-chan go.”

“T-This is too much... you both are so passionate...”

Naruse-san was hugged even tighter.

“Naruse-san, are you alright?”

“Urgh... Um, Tochika-kun. Since I’m in this state... could you listen to one last request of a dying girl?”

“How am I supposed to say no to a request with such a heavy intro? Fine, what is it?”

“Urgh... please call me by my first name. And I’d prefer it if you added ‘-chan’...”

“...Chito-chan.”

“Yessir~!”

Naruse-san—now Chito-chan—replied with a grin, even while being flattened by the chests of two tall beauties.

I’m not really the type of guy who calls girls by their first names with a "-chan," but... I wasn't heartless enough to refuse the request of a girl whose life was apparently ending as she was crushed to death.

Though, given her tenacity... I had a feeling Chito-chan’s life was going to last a long, long time.