Why I Fell for Tiny You: Volume 1 Chapter 18

18 A Morning with You Is a Morning I Like More Than Yesterday

"Yaaawn... Morning, Koto-chan."

"Ohachito! You look sleepy again, Toochika-kun."

"Pretty much. Morning to you too, Rou and Rin."

When I went down to the beach, I found Koto-chan and the two energetic puppies there.

Maybe because it was so early, no one else was around, and we had the beach all to ourselves.

"You really came, Toochika-kun."

"Talking for an entire day and night all at once would kill me. I'd die young. Meeting up with you a little at a time is better than that."

"You make it sound like you're only spending time with me because you have no choice."

"I'd like to understand the person who sits in front of me."

"I'm still just 'the person who sits in front of you'!?"

Koto-chan was devastated.

Of course I was kidding, but I genuinely couldn't handle talking for over ten hours at a stretch.

"You're as cold as ever... Oh, right. Toochika-kun, did you stop by the shop first?"

"Yeah, they held on to my uniform and bag for me."

Right now, I was wearing my old middle-school tracksuit.

Coming to this beach meant there was a good chance I'd get my clothes dirty.

I wanted to avoid anything that would dirty my uniform before school.

Koto-chan had apparently thought the same thing. She wore a pale-pink zip-up hoodie over a white tank top and a pair of shorts that left her thighs completely bare.

The mornings were still chilly, so I worried she might catch a cold.

"Oh, it wasn't Miss at the shop. It was someone called Saigo-san."

"Yeah, sounds like a dog lover's name, doesn't it?"

"That's not the issue."

Saigo Takamori was famously fond of dogs.

The statue of him in Ueno even has a dog at his side.

"Nee is probably sound asleep by now. It looked like she was doing paperwork until late last night. Nee handles all the administration, accounting, personnel management, and looking after her little sister by herself."

"Couldn't you lighten Miss's workload a little yourself?"

"Nee is smart. She gets more done in one night than I could in three straight days and nights."

"I wasn't talking about office work... But Miss is really that capable, huh? Beautiful, cool, and brilliant—now I admire her even more."

"I admired her first, okay?"

"Oh, getting competitive, are we? I'd be fine marrying Miss and making you my sister-in-law, Koto-chan."

"...When you take it that far, it might be kind of gross."

"Yeah, I'm starting to gross myself out too... Though I really do admire Miss."

"Nee usually comes on walks with me, but I told her I'd be fine by myself today because you'd be here, Toochika-kun."

"Well done, Koto-chan! Miss should get plenty of sleep so she can always stay beautiful."

"Ghh, you praised me, but somehow I'm not happy about it. You just ended up praising Nee again. Fine, I'll get bright-eyed too."

Koto-chan started gulping down an energy drink she'd pulled from who-knows-where.

"Ah, that again! Energy drinks first thing in the morning aren't good for you."

"I'm always sleep-deprived. No matter how much I sleep, I feel like I could keep sleeping forever."

"Ahh."

Little kids do sleep a lot...

"I know what you're thinking, but that's just how my body works, okay?"

"Ah, um, where are the other dogs? Chitto has lots of other dogs, right?"

"The others will go for walks later. Rou-kun and Rin-chan are already as many as I can handle."

"Well, two dogs would normally be anyone's limit. Though every now and then, I see people walking three or four."

"Apparently you can once you get used to it. Some people put dogs in a cart, hold the leashes, and walk several big dogs at the same time."

"It's practically an acrobatic act... I guess handling dogs takes training too."

"Nee handles them well. She sleeps in the same bed as the dogs from the shop too. Are you jealous, Toochika-kun?"

"There's no way I could sleep in the same bed as Miss. With you, Koto-chan, I could pat you gently and soothe you to sleep."

"Huh? You would!?"

"Not getting mad when someone treats you like a kid makes you invincible!"

Come to think of it, short girls usually got mad when someone treated them like kids.

It was amazing how Koto-chan not only didn't care in the slightest but actively tried to turn it to her advantage.

"But you know, Toochika-kun..."

"What?"

"You're really a good sport, Toochika-kun. You take me for walks, and now you've joined me for an early-morning walk too."

"I guess I have Amamori-san's advice to thank for that. Maybe it wasn't exactly advice, but getting to know each other is important, right?"

"But do you really need to learn that much about me? Could it be that you like me?"

"I have nothing else to do."

"Th-That's brutally honest..."

Koto-chan gave me an exasperated look as she stroked the fur around Rou's neck.

"Until about two months ago, I was constantly studying for entrance exams. After I got accepted, I spent all my time going out with my middle-school friends and getting ready to start high school, and once school began, I had my hands full just adjusting to it. Now that I can finally catch my breath, I don't really have anything to do."

"Y-Yeah, I'm in a similar situation."

"You're different, Koto-chan."

I patted Koto-chan's head while she petted Rou.

"You started a part-time job, you take care of Rou and Rin, and you put up with a cold guy like me. You're busy, if anything."

"I'm only an apprentice. All I'm doing so far is having fun playing with the dogs."

"I've seen you with them too, Koto-chan. I can tell you're serious about Rou and Rin. You're trying to take responsibility for them. You fell into the ocean because you refused to let go of Rou's leash, right?"

The sight of Koto-chan when she fell into the ocean was still burned into my mind.

"B-Because it looked like Rou-kun was going to jump into the ocean if I didn't stop him, so I was desperate. No, I probably wasn't even thinking about that. I just thought I couldn't let go."

"I figured. But I'm not a complete soft touch either. If you'd fallen into the ocean just because you were clumsy, I would've at least scolded you."

I hadn't minded getting soaked along with her only because I knew Koto-chan was giving it her all for the puppies.

"What's gotten into you, Toochika-kun? Have you really started to like me?"

"No. I was wondering the same thing myself, so I just tried putting it into words."

Come to think of it, Koto-chan was right. Joining her for walks and helping care for the dogs wasn't like me.

Toochika Sora was supposed to be the kind of guy who made the rounds of sweet shops and wandered around town looking for beautiful older women.

Amamori-san's counseling had definitely been what started it, and talking with Koto-chan at length had brought us closer—but...

I spent time with her because she worked diligently, and I liked seeing her that way.

To a stranger, it would only look like a little kid playing with puppies, but I could clearly see Koto-chan's seriousness and sense of responsibility.

"Actually, I've started to like dogs lately too. Can I take Rou's leash?"

"W-Wow, I'm glad you've taken a liking to our pups. Go ahead, but don't let him get away."

"Yeah, yeah."

I took Rou's leash from Koto-chan, crouched down, and stroked his head.

"...Doesn't Rou's face look a little different now? It hasn't even been a month since I first met him."

"Dogs grow fast. Give him half a year and he'll be a completely different person."

"A different person..."

Technically, wouldn't that make him a different dog?

"He really does look different. Rou isn't just cute anymore. He's starting to look pretty dashing."

"He'll keep changing. Rin-chan is getting bigger too, and her coat will get all soft and fluffy."

"Huh. I feel like I only ever see dogs when they're tiny or huge. Maybe I miss the in-between stage because they grow so fast—Whoa, Rou!"

Rou tugged on the leash and tried to take off running again.

I was crouched down, so he nearly made me fall flat on the beach.

Tracksuit or not, I had no desire to fall flat on the sand.

"Hey, Rou-kun! Settle down!"

"............"

When Koto-chan sharply scolded him, Rou stopped dead.

Then he whimpered and nestled against Koto-chan's feet as if asking for affection.

"No way... H-He listened to you, Koto-chan?"

"I told you, training them is my job. They still don't take me seriously on walks, but they're starting to listen to me."

"Whoa, that's amazing."

Rou in particular used to run around without listening to a single word she said.

He had obviously reacted to Koto-chan's command just now.

"...Well, Rin-chan still doesn't listen at all. Rin-chan, let's go."

Koto-chan stood and tugged on the leash, but Rin didn't move a muscle.

She stayed seated on the beach, staring blankly out at the ocean.

"And there you have it. Nee said these two would be difficult too, but I want our customers to see how cute they are as puppies!"

"Of course."

Rou and Rin were both still clearly puppies, but at this rate, it seemed like they'd become adult dogs in the blink of an eye.

There really was a kind of cuteness unique to puppies.

"Once I grow some more, become better friends with these two, and get you to fall for me, Toochika-kun, everything will be perfect."

"Growing, huh... Koto-chan, if you ever get bigger, won't you just be an ordinary cute girl?"

"Huh? Just cute... The way you said that bothers me, but you think I'm cute, Toochika-kun?"

"Huh?"

Koto-chan blushed and stared at me blankly.

"Haven't I called you cute several times, Koto-chan? Ah, well, it might've sounded like I was kidding, but there's no question that I think you're cute."

"S-Saying it that directly... isn't insensitive. If anything, it's kind and wonderful. I like it..."

"Wonderful... Am I?"

It was one of those words you might expect to hear more often but rarely did, though Koto-chan used it now and then.

Somehow, I was starting to feel embarrassed too.

"You are. Yeah, now I'm motivated. All right, time for another energy drink to perk me up even more!"

"Stop trying to recharge right away!"

Koto-chan cracked open a second can of energy drink and started gulping it down.

She'd just gotten motivated from the compliment. There was no need to pile extra energy on top of that.

Maybe I should stop her before she drank too much.

"I'm a little sleepy. Can I have some?"

"Sure, drink as much as you like."

"............"

Koto-chan held out the energy drink with the straw still stuck in it.

That would absolutely be an indirect kiss... but somehow, something like that didn't bother me anymore.

"Yeah, I think that woke me up a little."

I gulped some down through the straw and suddenly felt as though my head had cleared.

It had to be my imagination, but it didn't taste bad.

"You're starting to understand how great energy drinks are too, Toochika-kun. Drink this, charge up, and fight the big guys!"

"I'm not exactly small."

And I had no need to fight anyone.

Koto-chan was tiny and cute, yet she had an aggressive streak.

Maybe she was like Rou in that way.

Well, it was still early, and we had a long day ahead of us.

I would charge up with an energy drink and make it through the day.