The remainder of the classes were less of an issue compared to the first few. Yae wouldn’t let me leave her lap and held me close even during the breaks. She had wanted to make up after earlier this morning, but it also seemed like she was starting to enjoy being able to hold me close. I tried to get her to let me go, but she chose to ignore me whenever I made that particular demand. 

Since I was stuck, Takahashi took the opportunity to poke fun at my expense, pinching my nose from a safe distance where my flailing arms couldn’t reach her. She laughed mentioning she had done the same to Okazaki but it was more satisfying with me. The two seemed to have started getting along since Okazaki wanted to hear more about me while Takahashi wanted more information she could hold over me.

As for lunch, I was thankful Yae shared her meal with me because I did not want to go buy mine at this size. It was a consequence of being unable to get ready in time this morning as well as a reward. Yae held me against her as she reached into her bag to take out her bento. I expected her to just divide up a portion for me, but instead, Yae tried to feed me.

“Okay, Touya. Say Aaaah~n.”

“Um… Yae… I can eat on my own.”

Honestly, I’d have normally been enthused, if also embarrassed, but my current size made Yae seem like a mother trying to feed a baby. I was pulled back, wanting to refuse. Unfortunately, by doing that, I wouldn’t be able to eat. 

“... It’s a little surreal, but I think I like this Touya... In fact, I think I’m getting used to you being smaller now. Are you sure you don’t want me to feed you?”

“I’d be over the moon normally, but like this? I’d rather not. Come on, Yae. I can eat on my own.”

“... You can? Well, if you don’t want to, then go ahead and try.”

Yae literally pulled the lunch box away from me when I shook my head. My reach had shrunken with my height, so she was leaving me no choice but to let her feed me.

“Fufu~! Kirishima-kun, she really has you where she wants you.”

“Shut up, Takahashi. Yae, you’re being way too forward here...”

“I know… But I can’t help it,” Yae blushed. “This feels natural somehow, Touya. So please? Just once? Aaah~n.”

“At least I’m not the only one...” I gave up. This must’ve been one of desires Yae and the girls were awakening to with us at this size. Eguchi was in the same boat as I was with Yukimura holding him tightly in her grasp while the other girls fed him. “Aah...”

“And the baby boy gets fed.”

The yawning Takahashi really was testing my patience. Well, at least Yae happy. If this was what she called getting used to my height, I wondered if she’d get even less hesitant as I got smaller though. Lunch was light on the events in any case, but it really highlighted my inability to fight back against Yae’s demands. It really hit home that I had gotten physically weaker.

Speaking of physical, one course that stood out to me was physical education. Though the day before hadn’t had anything noteworthy, I had to admit me being 52 cm tall put things in an all new perspective. There were a few differences as to why.

The first difference was with changing. Normally, the girls changed in the classroom while we boys moved to a different classroom, but it was switched today because it would take too long for us to travel to the other classroom according to Kawamura-sensei. The trip to the gym still took us a while, however. We boys must have been a sight, our small forms walking through the halls where the doors were all propped open for our sakes.

The second difference was, of course, the height difference between the boys and girls. The gym was reserved for just our class because of the Reduction Week program, so when we entered, we saw all of the girls already there in their shorts and athletic clothes.

I think Fujimoto described the sight best. “Damn. It’s like a forest of bare legs.”

Comparing the girl’s legs to trees was fairly accurate in my opinion because of our 52 cm bodies. The thickness of their legs were comparable to tree trunks and we could walk right in between them without needing to bend or duck. They probably wouldn’t notice if we were quiet enough too as we were completely below their line of sight. The girls were as tall as houses to us after all. 

The third difference was surprisingly not the sports we would be playing. Kawamura-sensei told us we’d all be starting to play basketball. I would have thought that while Reduction Week was going on, that was an impossibility for us boys. The balls were around half our height and the hoops were far higher up than before to us. However, Kawamura-sensei told us she was prepared.

This was what the third difference really was: the courts.

While the girls would be playing in the regular basketball courts, we boys had a makeshift one for the day. There were several plastic adjustable toy basketball hoops and toy basketballs in a proportionally smaller court lined with tape.

“A friend of mine from overseas sent them a bunch over a few years back. I brought the one I let my little boy use at home too. This should work for the day,” Kawamura-sensei proudly informed us.

So we would be playing a toddler’s version of basketball while the girls would be on the actual courts. The difference was more than a little embarrassing to consider, but Kawamura-sensei seemed to think it was a great idea. She sent us off to play, and play we did.

“Touya-kun, pass!”

“Nakano! I’m open!”

“Kirishima, Eguchi-kun, over here!”

Despite the initial humiliation, once you think about it, a basketball game is still a basketball game. We boys would still be willing to play. The exercise and sweat were also a great way to relieve the stress and our worries. We just had to adjust to the lighter toy ball and the colorful, plastic hoops.

“Ah whoops.”

Crash!

We also had to adjust to the fact that the girls were still nearby. While going to retrieve the basketball she had sent out of the court, Honda’s butt bumped into one of the hoops and it fell to the ground. It was hard to see when it was below her line of sight, but the clumsy glasses girl then stumbled into our court trying to put it back up, towering over all of us while giving us boys a fair view of her legs and admittedly plump rear end.

Backing away was for the best, but we had to rely on Honda to readjust the height of the net because we were too short to. Someone had to get close to show her how because she was still panicking from her mistake.

We elected her seatmate: Nakano. 

With the game temporarily halted, I took a break on the sidelines for a moment. I watched the gentle love comedy that was apparently forming between Honda and Nakano as Honda slipped on the smooth floor and fell butt first on Nakano. I could tell that it must have been a heavy impact. Honda apologized while Nakano was instead thanking her. When it seemed like they were building a mood, Tokiwa and Hozuki called her back to the girls’ court, complaining about her being so slow.

I felt a mix of pity and interest in what was going on when there was a heavy thud behind me. I turned to see the back of a knee. Looking up, I didn’t see a face. It was just a bare leg raised high up. Glancing down, I saw Takahashi was on the floor, having raised her leg up to stretch it. Yae was also approaching, her figure getting higher and higher in my field of view until she got to us.

“Exhausted already, Aoi-chan?” Yae sighed.

“I’m not… made for… sports...” the normally sleepy girl moaned, dropped her leg swiftly, slamming it hard on the ground. I felt the floor shake from the heavy (relatively) impact.

“You were only playing for five minutes.”

Five minutes. She certainly had little stamina. It may have been because of her comparable stature, but the first thought I had was that I expected her to be a lot tougher even though I was already acquainted with how unathletic she was.

Standing beside Yae’s pillar of a leg, I looked down at the massive Takahashi. “So even the sleepy genius has a weakness,” I smirked. That smirk disappeared when Yae sat up. Even while sitting down, she was taller than me, and of course, stronger. Just because she lacked stamina didn’t mean she had less strength than little old me. She placed her hand on my head, completely engulfing my face with her palm. I had lost another 2 cm during class so it became even easier for her to do so.

“Give me a break… It’s a weakness, but you’re not making use of it today...” the out of breath Takahashi pushed me back gently, but it was still enough force to make me stumble 3 steps back.

“Come on, Aoi-chan. Stop that,” frowned Yae. She then turned to me with her hands behind her back. Leaning forward, she asked, “Is Sensei’s toy court fun, Touya? It’s really surreal watching you all play like that.”

“You’re telling me… It’s like watching toddlers playing a professional game… It’s weird…” Takahashi remarked.

I didn’t like the comparison, but I suppose the height difference was made clear whenever any of the girls went by the boys’ court. The fact that we were around the lower half of their thighs in height really drove home that we were the size of infants to them. 

“It’s not too bad to play like this at least,” I shook my head. “We’re at least more used to playing the game than you girls.”

“I won’t deny that for the two of us,” Yae giggled. “But if we went up against each other right now, we’d at least win, right? Even with Aoi-chan being Aoi-chan..”

“That’s unfair to put it that way. You can literally walk over to our net and drop the ball in. And if we played on your court, none of our throws would get high enough,” I frowned at Yae’s suggestion. I could bob and weave through her legs but if she held the ball to her chest, I’d never reach it.

“... I’m all for an unfair advantage...” Takahashi admitted, standing up. “I don’t think you’d be a match against two pretty, strong girls like us, Kirishima-kun.”

Strong, she said. Unathletic is what I’d say. Yae had a small build and Takahashi led a sedentary life-style. Neither of them were sports club members for a reason. On a normal basis, I’d be unimpressed by her remark, but this week wasn’t normal. With their legs alone taller than I was, it looked to me as though both of them had vastly more muscle and strength than my twig like arms and legs. Takahashi had a presence she knew she could flaunt over me.

“It’d be an easy game at the boys’ courts. I could just stand in one place and win,” she smiled down at me. “Can we make this game happen?”

“I don’t think we’d all fit on the boy’s court though,” Yae put some thought into the idea. “Maybe two girls against five boys?”

“Please don’t damage our pride like that.” It was true that our courts were proportionally much smaller, but I hoped Yae was just playing along and not being serious. However, my words were ignored as the conversation above me continued between the two giant girls, leaving me stuck between their legs looking up.

“If that’s the case, we’d take up one half of the court each and just hand it to each other over their heads. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about any dribbling.”

“Girls,” I called them.

“That does sound easy, Aoi-chan. And I guess we’d just reach down to take the ball?”

“Girls, c’mon,” I jumped up and waved my arms out but neither of them looked at me.

“Ergh… That sounds like that’d be a pain on my back though. Is it against the rules to kick with my legs?”

“You two can’t be serious,” I shouted, I gave a smack against Yae’s pillar of a thigh but then had to move out of the way when she shifted about in thought. She seemed to really like the idea.

“I don’t know actually. Maybe we should ask Sensei if we can arrange a game?”

Tweeeeeeeet!  

I was actually thankful for the sound of a whistle in the distance caught our attention. It stopped my two friends from getting too into their conversation talking over my head about their idea to play an unfair game of basketball against us much shorter boys. 

Kawamura-sensei was pointing at the three of us.

“What are you three doing just chatting!? Asano and Takahashi! Three laps around the gym! Kirishima! One lap!”

“Oh no. Looks like we’ve been caught,” frowned Yae.

“Eh? Why three for us?” Takahashi balked at the thought of more physical exercise.

“It’s probably because I’m smaller,” I answered. Now they looked at me because I was technically being given a lighter sentence. 

“That’s still not fair, Touya. I’m slow at running, you know that,” Yae didn’t approve of my grinning. 

“Let’s just get it over with.” I accepted the punishment and started to run first. At the very least, Yae and Takahashi were getting what I considered to be karma for ignoring me. “Sorry, girls, but I’ll be going on ahead.”

“Eh? Hey, Kirishima-kun, don’t just ditch us like that!”

“Touya! Wait! Let’s catch up, Aoi-chan!”

“Eh? Hold on.”

I didn’t wait and gave myself a head start. I appreciated the two fewer laps and would say that I was glad to be smaller for once. Though I was proportionally smaller now, I was still more athletic than Yae and Takahashi. I wouldn’t have to rely on my endurance and stamina as much to clear one lap unlike the girls who had three. It’d still finish before them despite the handicap.

… Is what I thought before a leg immediately arched over me. It was inevitable that Yae would catch up to me, but I didn’t think that within just three steps, Yae would already clear the distance I had crossed.

“Hah! Got you!” Yae exclaimed as she ran past me. I had to stumble out of the way because she ran past me, my body easily slipping between her long, towering legs. It was like going under an overpass, one made of legs over 2 m tall.

“Grk!” I grit my teeth as I saw Yae stick her tongue out at me. She hadn’t appreciated my head start. 

“Hah… That was easier than I thought,” Yae realized and decided to slow her pace. Even then, she was still ahead of me. “It looks like I’ll be the faster runner for once.”

“This is hurting my pride,” I grumbled. This was worse than this morning because I actually had a head start this time. Given that her legs were longer than I was tall, I knew it was to be expected, but experiencing being overtaken so easily was surprisingly more humiliating than just thinking about it. 

I didn’t have time to think further, though, as Takahashi’s leg stomped beside me as she jogged by, causing me to stumble further off course. “Serves you... right...,” she said between heavy breaths. “If we’re getting... three laps... you can bet we’ll… lap your tiny butt.”

Even with her poor stamina and pace, Takahashi also pulled ahead of me. I scowled and picked up the pace. To avoid those girls showing me up further, I’d have to finish my one lap before they finished their three. No, I’d have to push harder so they wouldn’t lap me at all. Was this going to be possible?

The increasing gap between Yae’s position and my own told me otherwise. I was under a third of my height so the entire gym was over three times bigger. I was at a disadvantage against the two titanic girls who could clear in one step what I needed four for, but in spite of this, I was still going to try.

I had to at least beat Takahashi even if I exhausted myself doing it.

By the end of the day, exhaustion set in both mentally and physically. At the shoe lockers, Yae took both my shoes and her shoes from her locker and placed both of our indoor shoes in there as well. She actually placed my still shrinking shoes into her own pair, saying they wouldn’t get lost that way. I believed she just wanted to see what having a tiny pair of shoes inside her own shoes would look like because she was giggling as she did it. I didn’t argue since I couldn’t exactly reach my shoes up where she stood anymore.

I stood at her knee watching the towering giant school girl slip her feet into shoes that were over half my height. Yae had gotten used to us boys looking up her skirt throughout the day, or at the very least, me. She wasn’t reacting poorly to the fact that I was right between her legs looking up. In fact, she seemed to accept it. After lapping me during our physical education class, she had grown satisfied with being physically superior. I wanted to argue that I finished my lap before her three, but she didn’t care. Overtaking me during my head start and again before I could finish my lap had satisfied her. At the very least, Takahashi just barely was unable to lap me, but I disliked how close it was despite the girl alternating between running and walking. I still didn't like how I had pull out so much effort just to beat the sleep-loving girl.

“47 cm is one crazy height to be at,” I mumbled. I wondered what was the magic number where Yae went from tall girl to giant because while we certainly still treated each other normally earlier, it felt difficult to do so now. I considered being knee height to be around the range.

Yae couldn’t hear me clearly as she placed both my shrunken sports bag and book bag into the outside pocket of her bookbag. She took a step back to see me because her skirt was blocking her view. “What did you say, Touya?”

“I said this is a crazy height!” I raised my voice.

A giggle escaped Yae who knelt down to get closer to my height (while still towering over me). “I guess you did lose a lot of your height in one day. You were a bit lower than my waist this morning.”

And now I was around her knees. The perspective made Yae seem less like my childhood friend and more like a moving statue likeness of her. She was as immovable as one to me as I couldn’t fight her hand that reached to grab me. Yae no longer bothered with using both hands because of how light I was. I grit my teeth as Yae raised me up. Though she intended to do so slowly, it was still a rapid ascent to me, causing my stomach to churn. I was lifted up and off the ground like a doll. I was still bigger than one, at least, so Yae actually used her other hand as well to hold me afterwards to prevent herself from shaking me unintentionally.

I wondered how I must have looked to Yae. This was not an experience I ever thought I’d have, being held in the hands of my childhood friend. I had to remind myself I was only around 160 cm high up. Unfortunately, the height was more akin to a fall from the top of the school building. 

“This is your last chance to join the other boys who are going to the Reduction dorm,” Yae warned me, reminding me of where I’d be going if I hadn’t opted out. 

I was certainly tempted. I couldn’t stop my dangling legs from trembling when faced against my giant classmate. I was at Yae’s mercy since she was the one taking me home. Her fingers weren’t the dainty, thin fingers I was used to. They were thicker than the giant rope we used for the sports festival tug of war and they wrapped around me with great pressure despite Yae not even squeezing. I was already clearly helpless against her firm grip, but I was still getting smaller as well. At this size, it was clear that I was shrinking every moment because every centimeter I lost now made a bigger difference in my height, including the one I was currently losing. I was getting even more powerless.

“I already told you I trust you, Yae,” I raised my voice to let her know. I was thankful my hands were still free because I could give her thumb a pat. Though I would have preferred it to be her head, it was impossibly far away despite being so close at the same time. “There’s only two more days, so let’s get through this.”

“But you’ll be with my family today, though,” Yae was still trying to convince me to refuse. “Otou-san’s still in Hokkaido, but Yuri and Okaa-san will still be around.”

“Isn’t that normal? And we did get your mom’s permission. We’ve slept over before.”

“When we were kids. I mean, I’d like you to visit, but if it’s like this then...,” Yae frowned and drifted off. “There’s no way you’re saying no, is there?”

“You know, if you really didn’t want me, you’d just have to drop me and leave without saying a word. Then Okazaki or someone would find me, and maybe I’d be lucky and get dropped off with Sasakura-sensei. If not, I don’t think you’d be able to find me tomorrow,” I stated the worst case scenario I didn’t want to happen because I knew it wouldn’t.

“Y-You’re mean for making me imagine that,” Yae gave up with a somewhat happy smile.

“So where are you putting me?” I asked. “It’s already sunk in that I don’t have a say in this but can you please keep it comfy.”

“Touya, please don’t make this weirder than it already is,” Yae asked, having mixed feelings about literally having me in her hands.

Where Yae chose was the safest place she could think of. She placed me atop the shoe lockers for a moment as she reached into her book bag. She then revealed a paper bag with the logo of a familiar manga-packed bookstore. She opened up the empty bag and then began crumpling balls of tissues and placing them into the bag.

“Oh, I see. That should be a cushy ride.”

“I hope so,” Yae replied. She then held the bag up to me, placing the opening of the bag right in front of me so that I could jump in. “There, you can get in here, Touya.”

“Here goes nothing then!” I shouted and hopped in. I landed softly without any issue. I found myself covered by orbs of white fluff and thick brown walls that did not let the light shine through. The only light came from above where the opening of the bag was. It was quickly blocked out, however, by Yae’s face as she looked down.

“This is still so surreal that I’m walking you home like this, Touya.”

It really was. I was being carried around like a recent purchased item from a store.

“Do you hate it then, Yae? That smile tells me you’re liking this.”

“Smiling? Um… Well… I don’t know. It feels like I’ve been a lot brighter today for some reason.”

Didn’t I know it. Reduction may have reduced just us boys, but it was clear the girls were starting to adapt to the change too. Yae’s and my relationship being what it was, I wondered if Yae was getting more expressive because of it. 

“Well, let’s get going,” she told me. And when she did, I felt my stomach lurch. She lowered the bag down to relax her arm. Shortly after, though, the bag began to move. It swayed forwards and backwards. Yae was naturally swinging her arm as she walked. I sunk into the pile of tissues, feeling like I was on an amusement park ride. It even had rough moments whenever Yae took a heavy step, causing the bag to jerk and bounce.

I was seriously being taken home by my childhood friend like a toy. This was an experience I wouldn’t get if I didn’t opt out. While it was definitely scary knowing that I knew nothing of what was going outside the bag, I was glad Yae was fine with caring for me.