“Aaah~ Nothin’ beats a hot shower on a cold day…” Furyu walked out of the bathroom and into the living room, looking completely relaxed which came as quite a surprise to everyone there. Her wet hair was glistening with moisture, and there was a towel draped around her neck. But, most importantly was the fact that she was essentially half-naked. Dressed in only a sports bra and some short athletic shorts. Her toned body and lean muscles were center stage for all to see. If there were only girls at this party this may have been more acceptable, but even still she didn’t seem the least bit concerned at the fact that there was a boy just a couple feet away. Though it’s not like she cared about whether or not, a member of the opposite sex saw her in her underwear.
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Fujo: Is it that big of a deal? I get that it's somewhat revealing but, I don’t see the problem. Don’t girls normally wear that kind of stuff when they’re working out?
Shuichi: I think it’s more about the setting rather than the outfit she’s wearing, or lack thereof.
Fujo: I guess that makes sense. If someone dressed that casual to a party, I think I’d be a little uncomfortable.
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“A-Aah! Furyu?! I thought I said that you could borrow one of my shirts?” She said frantically trying to block Rentaro’s line of sight.
“They were too big for me especially around the… chest area.” She said looking slightly embarrassed. Despite her tough exterior Furyu seemed to be overly self-conscious about one thing and one thing alone: her chest size. Saying that she had a ‘modest chest’ would be an understatement. She was flat as a board, and it’s been a curse that she’s always had to deal with. Given how sensitive she is about that particular region of her body, she gets extra violent whenever someone mentions how flat she is or mistakes her for a guy.
As Furyu sat down by the warm fireplace, it seemed as if Bunny was finally ready to tell her story. She looked around at all the smiling faces directed towards her and she couldn’t help but reflect a smile that was ten times brighter (still not as alluring as Rentaro’s smile though).
Retelling the time of last Christmas Eve, a moment in which she had to believe! Hoping and praying for the hearts of true love. A couple of micros with their hearts intertwined, and Bunny in the middle as the main mastermind. In order to patch their stubborn love life, she was forced to put them through a minor stage of strife…
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Fujo: Yikes, this sounds like a matchmaker story? Ugh, personally, I hate people who try to force a romance between people. It just doesn’t sit right with me. So! For this story, someone else will be commentating. And that person is none other than the one and only... Kurome Hidoi!!
Shuichi: Wasn’t she expelled?!
Kurome: Merry Christmas Shuichi~ You look so lonely without your sister or that dense idiot, do you want some personal company *wink*
Shuichi: No thanks! I don’t want my life force sucked out of me. Get someone else you “slutubuss”
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It was night, much like tonight. The Christmas lights were flashing, the gentle snow was falling, and amidst all the holiday cheer there was a certain person who shined brighter than any Christmas lights. With a smile on her face and innocence in her heart, Bunny was more than ecstatic to be spending Christmas with all her friends. However, as the festivities died down, she couldn’t help but notice an awkward presence between two of her best friends. (to keep their identities a secret we’ll be referring to them as Otoko[shortened version of the Japanese word for ‘boy’] and Nanoko[Shortened version of the Japanese word for ‘girl’])
“M-Merry Christmas, Nanoko!”He said anxiously, trying to casually wave at her. From how much he was fidgeting Bunny could very easily deduce that he was in love with Nanoko. It was honestly, super cute seeing just how head over heels he seemed for her.
“Y-yeah!” Nanoko averted her gaze and started to play with her hair. At first, Bunny thought she was just uncomfortable around him, but under close inspection, it was clear that she was also in love. But, something seemed off about this whole situation. If they were both in love with each other, why weren’t they doing anything about it? Were they just too stubborn to admit their feelings or was it something completely different? Bunny thought about it over and over and realized that maybe they just needed a slight push to get their lovey-dovey romance started.
“Hey, Nanoko!” Bunny pulled her aside and whispered something in her ear at just the right volume so that Otoko could hear her too. “Do you like anyone?” She smiled sweetly as Nanoko shifted her gaze towards the boy of her dreams who was standing a few feet away(proportionately).
“N-Not at the moment! Why do you ask?” She laughed nervously, clearing lying to her. When Bunny turned her attention towards the Otoko, who was ‘inconspicuously’ listening in on their ‘conversation’ she was shocked to see that he had an extremely disappointed look on his face. Just from that interaction alone, Bunny realized that this was going to be a lot harder than she thought…
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Kurome: Young love is so precious, though, with my unrelenting sexiness, I never find myself in those awkward situations because all the people who are interested in me are so stricken with love that they confess on the spot.
Shuichi: Here’s a wakeup call for you. The only reason boys ever confessed to you was because they thought you were easy. You even mentioned how easy you were in your introductory chapter.
Kurome: Just because I called myself an ‘attainable’ beauty doesn’t mean I’m easy!!
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Over the next half an hour, Bunny tried desperately to get the two of them to spend some quality alone time together but to no avail. It seemed as if them trying to get them closer together only drifted them further apart. It was almost as if their life itself was trying to make sure they never became a couple. Even if that was the case, Bunny wasn’t the type to just lay down and accept defeat. She was determined to get them together, even if it meant putting them in a tricky situation.
“S-So um... how are you enjoying the party?” He said stuttering his words. Sitting on the edge of an empty plate he couldn’t help but notice just how cute Nanoko, who was sitting right next to him on the same plate, was.
“I-It’s good…” She responded. And just like that, it was silent. Stricken by awkwardness the two drifted apart, both emotionally and physically as they slowly started to scoot farther and farther away from each other.
She couldn’t take it anymore! Bunny was fed up with how awkward the two of them were. At first, she thought the two of them just needed a tiny push but after seeing how bad it really was she realized that they definitely needed more than a push to get things going. That’s when Bunny decided to do something drastic.
Picking up the plate that the two of them were sitting on, she swiftly walked over to the kitchen and placed the plate in the sink. All while pretending not to notice their pleas. ‘Sorry, but this is for your own good.’ She thought, silently apologizing to them.
Now in the sink, the two were beset on all sides by four shiny metallic walls with seemingly no way out. Under normal circumstances, this situation would be life-threatening, but thanks to Bunny’s thoughtful diligence there was no actual danger present (of course, the two of them didn’t know that).
“Crap, my phone died! I guess we’ll just have to escape the old-fashioned way!” He rolled up his sleeves trying to look cool in front of his crush. Trying to scale the sink walls, Otoko failed miserably gently sliding down the smooth walls. Instead of looking cool he only managed to embarrass himself. But, it wasn’t all bad, though. His pathetic display was enough to get a small chuckle out of Nanoko.
“Before we resort to doing that let’s explore all our options first hehe~” She smiled sweetly at him. Pulling out her phone, she dialed Bunny’s number and tried calling her, but she would soon find out that it’d be a little harder than that…
“Watch out!!!” Otoko yelled trying to save her from a falling droplet of water. However, his warning came too late and Nanako was soaked from head to toe in the leaky faucets frigid water. The water droplet did way more than just soak her, it also made it so that her phone was unusable for the time being.
“So cold!!!” She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth. This was Otoko’s time to shine. Thinking back to an old romance anime he saw a while back, he realized exactly what he had to do in this situation.
“You should take off your clothes.” As the words left his mouth he instantaneously regretted every single decision that lead up to this point. Watching as she shot him a disgusted glare him Otako appropriately apologized profusely for what he said. This gave him an opportunity to correct himself. “Sorry! What I meant to say was, you should probably remove those wet clothes before you catch a cold! I wasn’t trying to be a pervert, I swear!” He said only to see that her white shirt had become see-through, revealing her lingerie.
“Y-You’re right.” She started to undress only to stop midway through. “Are you gonna turn around, or will you just keep staring at me?” She shot yet another disgusted glare at him.
“Sorry!!” He quickly turned around, resisting the urge to see his half-naked crush. He looked down trying to think of something he could do to make her feel more comfortable. That’s when it hit him. “Here! It’s not much but I hope it makes you feel a little warmer.” Otako removed his jacket and shakingly handed it to her, making sure to keep his eyes closed the entire time.
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Kurome: This is a touching story and all, but, how is Bunny in-universe telling this story? There's no way she could've known about anything that happened in the sink if she was waiting outside the kitchen in order to stop anyone from going inside.
Shuichi: Yes.
Kurome: That doesn’t answer my question...
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“You can open your eyes now…” When Otako turned back around he saw the cutest thing he’s ever seen. Nanoko with her hair tied back, wearing a jacket that was a bit too big for her. He couldn’t take her eyes off her.
“So cute…” He said causing the girl to blush.
“You can gawk at me all you want later, for now, we have to think of a way out.” She smiled at him. They were finally starting to make some romantic progress, and as the two of them shared their first non-awkward conversation, that emotional distance between them steadily decreased. Though, no matter how hard they tried, getting out of the sink began to seem more and more impossible. And aside from waiting for help to arrive there was still one option left unexplored.
“Get on my back, and I’ll try to lift you up.” He knelt down bracing himself. Otako wasn’t the most athletic person in the world, nor was he strong in any regard, though, none of that really mattered, because how hard would it be to lift a highschool girl who was a couple of inches shorter than him?
Lifting her onto his back Otako’s question was soon answered. “So heavy!!” he muttered under his breath trying to lift her up.
“R-Rude!” She yelled in embarrassment trying to get off of him, unintentionally causing both of them to trip over.
“I didn’t mean it like that!” He helped Nanoko up and apologized once more.
“It’s fine.” She sighed and tried to think of something else. “Here!” She knelt down signalling Otako to get on her back.
“B-But-”
“Don’t worry! I’ve got this.” Unlike Otako, Nanoko was fairly athletic and played multiple sports which meant she was far more capable than him when it came to this kind of stuff. That was extremely evident, once Nanoko managed to lift Otako with ease.
“Try to grab on to that sagging dish rag!” What seemed so high up before, now seemed fairly reachable. Escape was in reach and the two had grown closer because of it. And as Otako climbed up onto the countertop he saw something extremely aggravating. Near the kitchen doorway he could faintly see what looked to be vibrant red ribbon poking out from behind the doorframe.
“That girl…” He sighed, pushing the dish rag further down so Nanoko could climb up.
“We did it!” She smiled tackling Otako and pulling him into a tight hug. Feeling her boobs pushed up against him, he soon learned that maybe getting trapped there wasn’t such a bad thing after all...
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Kurome: How wholesome! But, do you wanna hear about my perfect love fantasy?
Shuichi: No.
Kurome: Well my perfect man is the type of person who'd accidentally grope a girl if they fall down the stairs. He doesn't have to have good looks, or be good at anything. All that matters is how kindhearted they are. But most importantly, they have to be dense as a rock when it comes to romance. That'll make obtaining their heart all the more satisfying. And having a handful of romantic rivals wouldn't hurt either. Sadly the perfect man only exists in trashy rom com anime.
Shuichi: That sounds a lot like Rentar- I mean, that almost sounds like you want to fall in love with a harem protagonist. Haha. That's definitely a surprise for sure…
Kurome: Would you mind finishing what you were about to say before? Sounds like you were about to say Rentaro. And now that I look at it, he is the only boy at this party and he looks super average. Could it be?! My soul mate goes to the same school as that other dense idiot!! I won't be beaten by her this time. I'LL TRANSFER THERE TOO!!
Fujo: No thanks, we already have enough girls in this story. And we definitely do not need a slutty character!
Kurome: Think about how much fanservice I can add to the story though. Come one please!!! Also, I'm not a slut so don't call me one.
Fujo: You have 30 seconds to leave before I call security.
Kurome: Fine! I'll leave… but, this won't stop me from pursuing my true love. I'll be a main character just you watch!!
Shuichi: Thanks for that Fujo. Anymore of her rambling and I may have gone insane. That girl's way too much…
Fujo: Thanks for reading that's all for today!! Half Inch High: Alternative 20k Christmas Special Short Story Collection will return tomorrow with Tomoya Utsumi's story!!
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