"R-Rentaro? U-Uh why would I know who that is haha!!" With an intense shakiness in her voice, Sekira slowly backed away from Alice hoping that she wouldn't be too suspicious of her, but right as Alice was thoroughly convinced that she was just mumbling something unimportant, Tsumi stepped in at just the right time to completely crush Sekira's hopes of concealing Rentaro. Putting down her erotic magazine she glanced over at Alice. 

      "Rentaro? I think he's a member of that pesky micro representative's group, though I’m not exactly sure." Even if she’s only heard about him through rumors and the occasional thirsty remark from the girls in class (which she mostly tuned out), she wanted to be somewhat helpful to Alice if it meant that they’d be able to take down the greatest threat to micro-injustice that the school’s ever seen. Thinking about the Micro-Rep Support Squad legitimately disgusted her. The thought of some random girl from Okisana waltzing in and befriending the perfect anti-discrimination team was preposterous. If she knew something like this would've happened then it would've been best to finish Mai off before she had the chance to meet Megumi, but now even if they did finish her off, it’d only be a matter of time before the remaining members came at her and the others with full force. And what’s worse is that she shared the same class with Megumi, meaning that she had to be extremely cautious when carrying out her micro misdeeds.

      “Oh, I see… So if that’s the case, then why were you whispering to yourself about him?” She pried looking closely at Sekira’s currently panicked expression. At first, she didn’t have any reason to suspect her, but seeing her like this was very strange. Sekira may not have been the sanest individual, but she’s never seen her act so weird before. ‘Maybe she’s just worried about getting exposed like that Makoto girl…’ She thought.

      Wanting to keep Rentaro safe, she couldn’t afford to be caught and she couldn’t take any risks, so Sekira did the only sensible thing and high-tailed it towards the exit while making sure that Rentaro wouldn’t be crushed by her heel. However, not only was this action extremely suspicious but, as it turns out, trying to run while anxiously worrying about a micro in your shoe wasn’t exactly best for Sekira’s balance and in less than a few steps she had fallen flat against the waxed wooden floor. As a caring friend, Alice’s first instinct was to help her.

      “Are you OK?” She offered her hand to Sekira as she winced in pain. When she tripped, she must have scraped her knee against the classroom floor. But, other than some minor bleeding she was alright. However, she had no reason to worry about herself. She couldn’t feel Rentaro anymore, but because she was extra careful, she knew that he wasn’t dead. 

    ‘What happened..?’ In a mildly concussed daze Rentaro looked around. He was still in her shoe, but he wasn't being pinned down by her foot anymore. In fact, her foot wasn’t even in the shoe. ‘It must have fallen off when Sekira tripped.’ He thought, catching his breath. As much as he liked being surrounded by Sekira’s surprisingly careful foot, he appreciated a little break from the relentless stress. But, much to his dismay, that rest would last only for a few moments before Rentaro was put into a whole new different and even more troubling situation.

     “I’m fine really…” She said, wiping the blood off her knee while stealthily reaching for her shoe. But, as fate would have it, Alice noticed it first and grabbed it before Sekira could. 

      “Here, let me get that for you.” She said, trying to be a thoughtful individual.

      “Wait!!” To the fruitless protest of Sekira, Alice picked up Sekira’s shoe and almost instantly laid her eyes upon Rentaro.

      “What do we have here?” Alice said, pinning him against the sole of Sekira’s shoe with her index finger. As she applied more and more pressure, Rentaro desperately tried to explain himself but he soon found that all the air in his lungs was forcefully pushed out by Alice’s imposing finger. With his face and body planted firmly onto the insole of Sekira's shoe, he was forced to breathe in all the musky and sweat-ridden odor that had accumulated in her shoe over her three years as a student at Hanichi. Stale sweat was uprooted from the insole like a moist sponge, and his uniform was stained and covered with odorous sweat and dust. Within mere seconds of being pushed against the insole, he felt a wave of fear and arousal surge directly into the depths of his soul as well as a certain other place within the ‘depths’ of Rentaro’s adolescent body. “And I thought I was the only one who kept bugs in their shoes, what’s the story behind this little guy?” She said, picking him up by his waist. Her thumb firmly planted against Rentaro’s relatively above average and currently erect, ‘you know what,’ and Rentaro couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed about this current ordeal.

      "U-Uh…" Trying to think of something that wasn't all too incriminating, Sekira sprung to her feet and said the first thing that came to mind. "He's just some bug that tried to confess to me the other day. Honestly, I'm surprised he's still alive." She shrugged over dramatically while trying her damndest to contain her emotions. 

      "Eh? This little ant confessed to you?! Normally, I would find that hard to believe…” Pressing Rentaro tightly between her thumb and forefinger she felt something strangely stiff on Rentaro’s body.

      “What do you mean by ‘normally you’d find that hard to believe?’ Are you trying to make fun of me?” Sekira interjected, shooting a slightly angered glare towards Alice.

      “But, after feeling how ‘passionate’ his little ‘you know what’ is, it definitely seems like he has a thing for you." She teased, running her thumb up and down Rentaro's midsection. 

      In an effort to maintain her cover, Sekira was forced to hide the massive amount of joy that was swelling up inside her after hearing that she made Rentaro feel that way. 

      "T-That's so g-gross. I don't want some perverted little bug getting off to me!!" She said, struggling to contain the smile that was currently forming on her face. Little did she know, this remark would put Rentaro in an even worse position than he already was. 

      “Do you want me to crush him for you? It wouldn’t be that hard.” Alice said, squeezing Rentaro tightly between her fingertips. Constantly adding on more and more pressure, Rentaro screamed from the intense amounts of pain. In a few seconds, he was pushed to his limits and felt his body painfully compress and all his bones creak audibly under the intense constraint. And most importantly, his **** was at its breaking point. If she squeezed any harder not only would his privates be flattened, but he’d probably be heavily injured and be sent into a world of unbelievably agonizing pain. Luckily, Alice didn’t want to steal Sekira’s prey, and thus waited patiently for her decision. 

      “Tch, I swear if someone other than me kills him there’ll be hell to pay…” She mumbled gritting her teeth while looking at Alice with a subtle menacing death glare.

      “Did you say something?” Alice said, absent-mindedly twiddling with Rentaro’s body. “Dang, even in a situation like this he’s as hard as a rock. Now I’m starting to think that he's really just some kind of pervert, haha! Maybe he likes being treated like this by all girls, and not just you!” After being so excited by what Alice said earlier this simple remark was enough to make Sekira’s blood boil. But she couldn’t blow her cover just yet, she had to contain her emotions until she and Rentaro were completely in the clear.

      “Ha Ha Ha Ha!! That’s how all boys are, so it’s not even a surprise. Even so, hearing that only makes me want to crush him even more. Hand him over, and I’ll make quick work of him myself!!” She said, quickly stealing Rentaro from Alice. “But first, I’m gonna torture him in the nurse’s office while I get my knee patched up!” Walking leisurely out of the room, she hoped that she’d finally be able to save Rentaro, but much like the door in front of her, that hope was slammed shut right away by none other than Tsumi herself.

      “You might get caught by a teacher out there, I think it’d probably be best if you just crushed him in here…” Slamming the classroom door shut, Tsumi warned with a slightly suspicious and deadpan tone. Sekira knew that Tsumi was already partially skeptical of her before, so she really couldn’t afford to act on impulse. She had to make a decision.

      “Honestly Tsumi, you can be such a buzzkill sometimes... Well, if you’re that eager to see some rando bug bite the dust… then I’d be more than happy to oblige!!” In one swift movement, she held Rentaro in the palm of her hand and quickly closed her fist around him. Out of breath and fearing for his life, Rentaro could barely get a word out before his entire body was confined within Sekira’s tightening fist. And after wiping her hand on her chest, all that remained was a small red stain smeared across the palm of Sekira’s hand.

      “Now if you’ll excuse me!” She said exiting the room and walking towards the nurse’s office. When she was far enough away, Sekira finally broke character and let all her emotions run loose, falling to her knees with a blank expression on her face. “I’m sorry… that you had to go through that, my love.” Unbuttoning her shirt she stared deeply at Rentaro’s little legs as he squirmed upside down between Sekira’s bouncy and ample cleavage. He was in a desperate struggle to breathe before he was fished out and placed in her reliable palms.

      “Thank you! I don’t know what I can do to repay you.” He thanked her with utmost sincerity before bowing his head and prostrating himself before her. With his head planted firmly against her palm, he noticed something extremely… concerning. Her hand was stained with blood. To Rentaro, even the mild stain on her hand looked like an atrocious, and horrific scene. “What’s all this?! B-Blood?!” 

      “Oh, my hand? I kinda used the blood from my scraped knee to make it look like you died. But, don’t worry I made sure that Tsumi couldn’t see your face that well, and Alice hardly remembers the faces of her victims so you shouldn’t have to hide that much. Just avoid them and everything should be fine.” She smiled at him, placing him on her shoulder before washing her hand at a nearby water fountain. “Though, if you want to be extra careful… I could make you my pet and keep you safe forever!” She suggested looking deeply into Rentaro’s eyes.

      “Hahaha! If I ever run into that problem, I’ll definitely take you up on that offer.” He chuckled smiling sweetly at Sekira, piercing through her heart in the process. “I’m sorry if I caused you a lot of trouble, but I just wanted to say that… I really like you, Sekira…” 

      “W-What?!” She stuttered. Shocked by his words, she felt her heart begin to beat erratically as a strange feeling shot throughout her entire body. ‘Am I dreaming?! Did he really just say that?! Oh, my darling Rentaro, are our desires so deeply intertwined by the red string of fate that you can understand my true feelings just by looking at me?! Though this might be a little sudden, I suppose there’s no denying true love ’ She grasped at her heart and smiled earnestly at him before puckering her lips. “Well, if you like me so much then… we should probably get married-” 

      “I think we’d be great friends!” He said nonchalantly, cutting her off with a smile on his face. To Rentaro saying that kind of stuff was normal, but for Sekira that single sentence was enough to stab at her heart and shoot down all her romantic anticipations. She really couldn’t believe him, and she honestly felt like crushing him right then and there. But, after some careful consideration, she was still ecstatic to be his friend. ‘Friendship is the first step to true love!’ She reassured herself.

      “I’m glad you think so as well. But…” She averted her flustered face away from Rentaro. “Would you mind saying that again… but only the first part.”

      “Say what? That ‘I really like you?” He said looking at her with a smile.

      “Yes, please!” She pleaded desperately. Her body was voraciously thirsting for his kind words. 

      “You really are a weird one aren’t you, haha. Well, if that's what you want.” He cleared his throat. “Sekira Sumehara! I really like you!!!” Confident, but confused about why she wanted him to say that Rentaro looked at her honestly willing to accept someone like her as his friend, and he couldn’t wait to have fun with her and the rest of his friends.

      “Aghh!! I can’t resist it, Rentaro!! Please, I know you said we should be friends but, I wanna be something much more than that!” Grasping him tightly in her hands she pulled him close into her embrace. Up close and personal, Rentaro could feel her intense beating heart, body heat, and unsteady breath. He may have thought that maybe she was just tired, or had a fever but in reality, Sekira’s mind was filled with thoughts about him. Being this close was the best experience she’s felt in a while and she was starting to get all hot and bothered. But, despite wanting this moment to last forever, things didn't exactly go to plan. 

      “Ms. Sumehara!! You better not be harassing another micro student again!” A voice called out from behind her.

      "What do you want?! Can't you see I'm trying to…" Turning around, Sekira was ready to snap at whoever interrupted her 'romantic' moment with Rentaro, but as she saw who it was, her heart sank with a partial feeling of fear. "Crap, it's Ms. Shizuka. This might be bad news for you, my love. Sit tight." Closing her fist around Rentaro, she hid him behind her back before turning to face formidable teacher known as Ms. Shizuka.

       "Harassing another micro student?! I don't see any micro students around here!" She lied, slowly backing away from Ms. Shizuka. 

      "I'm not an idiot, Ms. Sumehara. Just hand them over." She sighed and shot an intense menacing glare at her. Sekira knew she had no chance of denying her, and if she did take her in there she'd undoubtedly be caught for all of her micro misdeeds. She had no choice but to hand him over to her. 

      "Tch, whatever." She said gently giving Rentaro to Ms. Shizuka. "Try not to kill him, teach… if you can help it." Sekira scoffed pushing past her while whispering something to Rentaro. "It was fun, while it lasted" She winked and ran off to the nurse's office.

      After waving her goodbye, Rentaro thought back to what she had said earlier. 'There's no way a teacher would kill a student.'  Dismissing it off as nothing, he looked at  Ms. Shizuka nervously. Despite being an honors student with way above-average grades, he had never been the best with associating with teachers. And even if he wasn’t the best at communicating with teachers, Ms. Shizuka was one hell of an intimidating figure so that made conversing with her even harder. 

      "You there, don't you think it's a bit risky to be involving yourself with that girl." She said coldly. Rentaro couldn't believe she just said that. After being saved by her, Sekira was kind enough to become his friend and even if she was a teacher, there's no way he'd let anyone talk bad about his friends. 

     "What do you know?! Sekira saved my life and put her own friendship on the line to protect me! You're a teacher and even if you don't like some of the students at this school, it's your job to teach and treat them with fairness and respect. You can't just go around ostracizing them like that!" He yelled loudly at her, but at his size, that yell accounted for nothing more than a soft whisper for Ms. Shizuka, but even so, she still heard him and headed his words. 

      He was right, and even if he was putting his faith in a false identity, his heart was in the right place. And that's what Ms. Shizuka respected more than anything about the tiny boy she held oh so firmly in her palm. But, even if he was right, above all else it was still her job to keep the students of this school safe. 

      "Your 'friend' is dangerous. I suggest that you reevaluate your relationship with her." She said before placing him down onto one of the micro walkways. "Try not to get yourself killed. Oh, and I’ll be subbing in for Ms. Oshino tomorrow so try to behave in class tomorrow as well." With that last piece of advice, she walked off into the distance, leaving Rentaro alone. 

      "She obviously cares about her students…" He sighed watching her almond-colored ponytail disappear around the corner "I probably shouldn't have said those mean things to her, but that's what she gets for insulting one of my friends. Speaking of which, I wonder how Megumi's doing on her end..." 

-----

      “Wait up!! Please! I just wanna be friends!” Running after her she finally saw her chance to catch up. Makoto was slowing down, and thanks to a crowd of students she was blocked from getting any farther. Running off of pure adrenaline, Megumi took her chance and ran towards Makoto with all her might… but amidst her adrenaline-fueled sprint, she had forgotten the most important thing; her caution. 

      As her foot touched down she felt an awful sensation course through her entire body. Her body froze and she found herself falling harshly towards the ground. She fell to her knees and stood there, in a completely broken state. Looking down is when she saw it. An awful, disgusting and horrific color stained across the floor and the bottom of her shoe. A color that sparked complete despair and fear in her heart. A color that Megumi absolutely hated with every fiber of her soul: The color red.