Why I Fell for Tiny You: Volume 1 Chapter 21

21 I Like You!

The moment I entered the classroom, all eyes turned to me.

Most of the students had already arrived and appeared to have seen that photo of Koto-chan and me.

Social media had seriously poisoned everyone.

Though if I'd been an unrelated bystander, I might have joined the fuss like anyone else.

But right now, I was directly involved, so I would do what needed to be done.

"What's wrong with liking tiny, cute girls?"

As I walked, I spoke to a group of boys nearby.

They stared at me in stunned confusion and went, "Huh?"

"Koto-chan really is a girl our age. She isn't some elementary school prodigy who skipped grades."

Then I turned to a group of girls nearby.

They were just as stunned and stared blankly back at me.

I was repeating what I'd just told Runa, but it worked as an analogy, so I reused it.

"T-Toochika-kun, what are you saying?"

"You get it, Koto-chan. I'm explaining that photo of the two of us. I figured everyone wanted to hear about it."

"B-But even so!"

Koto-chan stood from her seat and came over to me.

"L-Let's just stop, Toochika-kun. Anything you say right now will only fuel the firestorm!"

"You're surprisingly passive. I'd rather put the fire out, even if it means causing a flood, than wait for it to die down."

"No, don't do this..."

Koto-chan suddenly looked ready to burst into tears and tugged on my sleeve.

Then, in a truly tiny voice, she whispered, "Remember the article Amamori-san showed us the other day about that high school boy? I heard he quit school and disappeared somewhere with his entire family. I don't want that. I don't want you to disappear, Toochika-kun."

"You knew about that too, Koto-chan?"

The rumors were circulating online, so it wasn't strange that she knew.

She had probably only found out by searching just now.

The circumstances were different for him and me, but I couldn't say there was no chance we'd share the same future.

I understood why kindhearted Koto-chan had become so passive.

I understood, but──our circumstances were different, so all I had to do was change the ending.

"It's okay, Koto-chan. I won't disappear."

I stood at the very front of the classroom, in front of Koto-chan's desk.

"As everyone knows, Koto-chan and I get along well. The other day, the two of us went out on Sunday, climbed up to an observation deck, got carried away, and someone took our picture. That's all there is to it. Oh, was picking her up going too far? But doesn't anyone here have a little brother, little sister, or young relative? When a tiny, cute kid is right in front of you, don't you want to pick them up? That's just human nature, isn't it?"

"Toochika──Toochika-kun!¹ What's with all this 'tiny' and 'cute' stuff!?"

Ah, she had gone back to calling me the usual Toochika-kun.

Good. Maybe her tears had subsided before they could fall.

"I don't like you just because you're tiny and cute, Koto-chan. If that were all, I might not be interested in you at all. I'm seriously into mature, tall girls. In our class, my favorites are Nonoa-san and Runa──Harukawa Runa."

"Heeey, Sky!"

Apparently, Runa had finished both practice and changing and had arrived in the classroom.

"That is why I'm not a lolicon."

"Wait, didn't you say you'd never use that word again!?"

"I only said I wouldn't use it with you, Koto-chan. It isn't a forbidden word or anything."

This wasn't a television station, so I was free to say whatever I wanted.

"None of you know this, but──Koto-chan works hard."

I looked around at everyone in the classroom──

"Every day, she gets up early to work part-time at a dog cafe and take care of puppies with way too much energy. It's hard on her tiny body, but she charges up with energy drinks. She's full of energy at school too, where she comes wagging her tail like a puppy, begging me to pay attention to her."

"Aren't you insulting me!?"

Koto-chan looked bewildered, but I was going to keep talking.

"She's this cute and works this hard, so of course you'd want to dote on her. But I am absolutely not a lolicon."

"You're really emphasizing that part, Toochika-kun."

"Because it's important. If I'm not a lolicon, that photo means something entirely different. To strangers, it only looks like a heartwarming picture of a brother and sister. And to everyone in this classroom who knows us, we're just two classmates who get along well, right?"

I looked around at everyone in the class.

Runa was exasperated, and Nonoa-san, who had entered the classroom at some point, was glaring at me.

"Everyone, think carefully. You're the ones who've seen Koto-chan and me together the most, right? Did I look like a lolicon to you? You know Koto-chan is just small and a high schooler like the rest of us, don't you? Anyone might twist something obvious and laugh about it. But don't take it too far. I'm not saying that just because I'm involved. Think harder."

Somehow, this had turned into a full-fledged speech, but I couldn't stop.

And by then, everyone seemed to be listening intently.

"Our high school lives have only just begun. This class will be together for almost a year. Are you going to spend that year making Koto-chan and me into laughingstocks and enjoying that kind of cruel laughter? I wouldn't want to. A firestorm might be entertaining when it has nothing to do with you, but you're all too close to the source. Can you really keep sharing a classroom with a lolicon and the loli girl² he's supposedly targeting? Right now, this can still end as a joke."

"T-Toochika is twisting the logic around like crazy... What's with him? He's like a different person."

"Sky is good with words... and he says everything in the most brutally direct way possible."

Nonoa-san sounded dumbfounded, while Runa sounded as though she'd given up on everything.

"Sky isn't popular with older-woman types just because he looks cute."

"What do you mean?"

"He's mischievous. Impudent. Just when you think he's quiet, he suddenly bares his fangs. Well, that's another thing I like about──No. He's talked circles around me plenty of times."

"Did Chii get attached to a seriously dangerous guy...?"

My gyaru friend and childhood friend were saying some rude things.

Saying I suddenly bared my fangs... They made me sound like a dog.

Apparently, everyone in class was focused on me and couldn't hear the conversation between the gyaru and my childhood friend.

Good. If they heard that, they'd think I was dangerous.

Though I got the feeling some of them already did.

But I couldn't stay on the offensive. Hitting them with nothing but hard, direct words wouldn't work.

I needed something gentler too──a slow, straight approach.

"I want everyone to know the truth. I really do like Koto-chan."

"Huh!?"

Most of the class wasn't particularly surprised. Only the smallest girl was.

"If we set mature, tall girls aside, Koto-chan is the one I like best."

"That condition takes all the joy out of it..."

Koto-chan glared at me, but I didn't care.

It was fine if she glared at me──

"Huh? W-Wah!"

When I grabbed both of Koto-chan's shoulders and pulled her close, she cried out in surprise.

Koto-chan's back pressed snugly against my body──

"You're more than just a small girl, Koto-chan," I whispered to her from behind.

"W-Wait! People will misunderstand us again!"

"I hadn't realized it myself, but I probably like mature, tall women because──they seem like such a handful."

"A-A handful?" Koto-chan replied in confusion as I whispered into her ear.

"Runa looks straightforward, but parts of her are twisted. And Nonoa-san couldn't have developed that low-energy, mature air overnight either. She probably has quite a past."

"I-I can't tell you about that."

So Nonoa-san really did have one.

"And Miss──Sawa-san, for example. You kept hinting at it, Koto-chan. She seems to have a past that a high schooler like me couldn't imagine."

"...Yeah."

Koto-chan gave a small nod.

I wanted to hear about it from Miss herself, but digging into someone's past would be tactless, and part of me wanted to leave it a mystery.

A mysterious side would make a tall beauty even better.

"You're a handful too, Koto-chan."

"Huh!? I'm simple, aren't I?"

"After coming at me so aggressively, you're trying to back down the moment I have a little trouble. That's practically asking me to chase after you."

"Th-That wasn't what I meant──though maybe it was."

"You're honest about that, at least."

There was no way I could abandon the adorable Koto-chan and distance myself from her.

If I were that heartless, I wouldn't have spent this much time with her.

"Maybe I like people who are a handful. You're a handful and need a lot of looking after, Koto-chan. Learning that you had that side to you made this whole commotion at least somewhat worthwhile."

"I feel the same... Dogs don't listen and can be a lot of trouble, and I have to look after them, but I don't hate it. That's what makes them cute and precious to me."

"Precious, huh? I can't go that far──well, maybe I'm just too embarrassed to say it."

I gave a wry smile and released Koto-chan's shoulders.

Then I sat on top of my desk.

"Koto-chan, I'm sorry."

"Wah?"

I lifted Koto-chan's light body and sat her on my lap.

"To me, you're a cute girl who's fond of me. That's all it is right now. You're cute, but I don't like you as a girl yet. Besides, I wouldn't have the courage to do something like this to a girl I truly liked. I may not look it, but I'm innocent."

When I gave a wry smile, I heard several girls in the class giggle.

Yes, I knew I looked like an innocent boy.

The mature-looking girls who seemed friendly with Nonoa-san were laughing in particular.

I would take advantage of how well I appealed to older-woman types in this situation.

"Th-This is completely ridiculous... But you said 'yet.'" The last part was barely a mutter, so quiet that I was probably the only one who heard it.

Now that she mentioned it, I had said "yet."

It had slipped out unconsciously, but it sounded as if I'd admitted I might come to like her as a girl in the future.

"Koto-chan."

"Th-There's still more?"

In a voice only Koto-chan could hear, I said, "You're interested in sexual things too, right? After what you told me, there's no way I can think of you as a child."

"F-Forget that──Jeez, Toochika-kun, just keep it to yourself, okay?"

She didn't need to tell me. That was already my intention.

Even though I'd delivered a speech in front of the whole class, I could still tell the difference between what I should and shouldn't say.

"I can't tell them about that, but..."

"Koto-chan?"

"Then instead of only relying on you, Toochika-kun, I'll──"

Koto-chan climbed off my lap and stood proudly before everyone.

She took a deep breath.

"I'm Naruse Koto of Hiura High School, Class 1-1, Number 22! Height: 140 centimeters! Weight: super light! I'm from Minami Middle School! I'm already sixteen! I'm older than almost everyone here!"

"...Come to think of it, I remember you saying you were sixteen. So your birthday's already passed?"

Her usual self-introduction had gained one new detail.

It was still April, so most of the students were probably fifteen and hadn't had their birthdays yet.

Whether someone's birthday came early or late didn't matter──but Koto-chan was sixteen.

Anyone trying to get a laugh out of treating Koto-chan like a child needed to know that fact.

"Everyone, you heard her. Koto-chan is already sixteen. She's older than most of the people here, and──"

I glanced at Koto-chan's face.

"In Japan today, the age of consent is sixteen. In other words, she's already old enough to do sexual things."

"Waaaaah! Toochika-kun, what are you talking about!?"

"There are detailed conditions, so look them up yourselves. Didn't we learn about this in school too? Anyway, for example, if two sixteen-year-olds mutually consent to sexual activity, they aren't breaking the law. That's the kind of age sixteen is. So I won't allow anyone to treat Koto-chan like a child."

"I don't want that to be your reason!"

Koto-chan wailed and tried to cover my mouth with her hand.

Some of our classmates gave strained smiles, while others turned bright red.

"Ah, yeah. Even I'm starting to lose track of what I'm talking about."

"Then can you end your speech already, Toochika-kun!"

If Koto-chan herself told me that, I had no choice.

Besides, I was only repeating what my mother had said about the age of consent and didn't know the details.

It was a bluff meant to silence everyone in class──we would have to wait and see whether it worked.

All right, time to wrap this up.

"Everyone, that's how it is, so please keep being good to Koto-chan and me."

"Ah, that wonderful smile again..."

I hadn't done it consciously, but apparently I'd made the kind of smile Koto-chan liked.

The classmates who'd been making a fuss seemed to calm down once I ended things with a smile──

"Toochika-kun and Naruse-san really didn't do anything wrong."

"We're in the same class. Why are we fueling the firestorm? We should be the ones supporting them."

"I hate firestorms. It's like once people find someone they think it's okay to attack, they latch on and keep attacking them forever."

"Anyone who enjoys that has a seriously awful personality."

"Naruse-san and Toochika-kun are both cute. It was a nice photo."

So, in the end, our classmates weren't bad people either.

Someone close to them had gone viral, and they'd simply gotten carried away by the excitement.

Apparently, they understood this wasn't something worth fueling a firestorm over.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot. Happy birthday, Koto-chan."

"...Thanks. Haaah, I used up all my strength again."

"Whoa!"

Koto-chan staggered, and just as I hurried to catch her──

"Okay, that's enough. No more clinging to each other."

"Exactly, Sky, Naruse-chan. Do you want someone taking another photo?"

Just like before, Runa and Nonoa-san suddenly appeared beside us. Nonoa-san caught Koto-chan, while Runa firmly grabbed my shoulder and pulled me away.

"Anyway! Chii and Toochika are just two people with a slightly weird sense of personal space! Don't spread strange rumors—just keep quiet and watch over them!"

"Exactly! If anyone has a problem with these two, you'll have to deal with Nonoa and me!"

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

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

Neither Koto-chan nor I said a word.

The entire classroom fell silent all at once.

So in the end, threats from a gyaru and an athlete were effective...

Did that mean I hadn't needed to do anything extra?

"Thank you, Toochika-kun. I'm all right now," Koto-chan said with a bright smile, as if she'd read my mind.

Yeah, I definitely preferred seeing Koto-chan smile instead of looking gloomy.

"Yeah... 'A wonderful smile'? That's you."

"Huh? Toochika-kun, what did you just──"

"Good morning."

The classroom door suddenly slid open with a clatter.

The person who entered was our homeroom teacher, Shinju-sensei.

The teacher gave Koto-chan and me a meaningful look──

"There are no little children in this class, and if a boy likes a girl, that's perfectly ordinary romantic attraction. Whether the other person is big or small is between the people involved. Everyone, let's support other people's romances."

Shinju-sensei brought everything to a close with those much-appreciated words.

This time, it seemed the matter was finally settled──

Translator's Notes

¹ “Toochika” (遠近) / “Toochika-kun” (トーチカくん): Koto starts with Sora’s surname before switching back to her usual nickname; both use the locked Toochika spelling in English.

² “Lolicon” (ロリコン) and “loli girl” (ロリっ子): Stigmatizing labels for attraction to underage or childlike girls and for the girls subjected to that framing.