“I know.”

“If only I didn’t take so long to change you back. I should've taken advantage of you earlier.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I know Airi-chan picked you up and panicked, but it’s my fault you almost got hurt. So don’t blame her, okay?”

“I’m not blaming anyone.”

Yae apologized to me for the rest of the school day even after we got out to the entrance to the school building. Yae was bowing her head, clasping her hands together, and practically begging for me to accept her apology without hearing anything I said. The 5 meter tall girl was doing her best to stay behind me as I walked, but she actually stepped over me a couple times because her stride was over three times mine and the length of her legs were nearly twice my own height. It was actually more impressive that, whenever she did a perfect ninety degree bow, she was still above me enough to not headbutt me.

We were being a very strange sight to the normal-sized bystanders we walked past. 

“Did Asano-san do something bad?” “I heard Kirishima-kun almost got hurt or something...” “Eh? But Asano wouldn’t hurt a fly!” “It must’ve been an accident then, right?” “Hey, Kirishima, just accept her apology already!”

A barrage of comments from the peanut gallery made lingering around very uncomfortable for me. I was actually more impressed that they were less concerned with Yae’s hulking size and more about our relationship. Well, I hadn’t actually told her I’d forgiven her. That was probably why Yae was still trying to apologize. I supposed my own avoidance of a proper response was enough to show that I did hold a grudge, even subconsciously.

“Shoot, I guess I actually was a bit mad, huh?” I cracked an awkward smile now that I realized my own thoughts. “Well, if you really wanted to, you could just physically force me to get over it as you are right now, Yae.”

“That’d be wrong, Touya,” Yae was too nice to do what I believed other girls would do and man-handle me to get her away. Well, at least girls like Takahashi I knew wouldn’t mind physical contact… “Come on. No more feeling bad about this, okay? It’s my fault, Touya. Forgive me already.”

Though I wanted to, the words didn’t leave my tongue. This was the bad thing about being unable to lie. I couldn’t just say I forgave Yae if it was halfhearted. Something in the back of my mind wasn’t satisfied. As someone who had a grudge keeping notebook to list how many times Takahashi messed with me, even Yae couldn’t avoid being added to it.

“You still don’t forgive me, huh?” Yae frowned, but she was less sad now after hearing our classmates supporting her. I could see her cheeks puff up.

“Sheesh… I want to. The words just aren’t coming out,” I sighed. Was it my pride that was preventing me? I hated this aspect of myself, and so did Yae. I wanted to get the message across properly, but if I couldn’t actually say those words, I needed to find another roundabout method.

Giving up, I stretched both of my arms out to the side.

“Huh?” Yae was confused at the sudden pose I took. “Touya?”

“Ah… My body still hurts from earlier,” I purposely exaggerated my own bad acting with the worst and flattest delivery possible. “I won’t be able to walk home like this without help. Ah, it hurts.”

Pfft!

Snickers from some of the drama club members who were passing by. I hope word wouldn’t pass to Shiina. The gyaru actress was quite the gossip.

I was glad Yae understood I was acting up to calm her down. Actually, she didn’t just calm down. I tickled her funny bone with my words. “Kuku~ What was that, Touya? Ahaha~”

“Well, I was going to ask you to carry me home since you clearly can now,” I bluntly told her. “I figured that’d embarrass both of us enough for you to forget about earlier. If you do this, how about we consider that apology accepted.”

“E-Eh? Can I really?”  Unexpectedly, Yae wasn’t the least bit embarrassed. In fact, she readily accepted the proposal. I was caught off guard when she took a heavy step forward. I was surprised that I could already feel the shockwave of her foot hitting the ground shoot up my body. 

“Don’t tell me you’ve been wanting to do this all day,” I realized. My solution was a little too effective at getting the message across, or rather, it was successful in getting Yae to forget all about me not accepting her apology.

“Absolutely,” the girl couldn’t lie. After she said those words, though, her face turned red. Her usual sheepish expression returned. “I-I mean… Ever since I got big enough, I really wanted to try. Just getting to hold you earlier wasn’t really enough...”

My not-girlfriend was incredibly affectionate. I wondered what was going to happen to me when we actually started dating.

“...It’s embarrassing to do it in public, but I was the one who suggested it in the first place,” I relented. “But are you going to be alright carrying me along with everything else? There’s a lot of stuff to carry home today, isn’t there?”

Besides Yae’s own belongings, we also had my things and the sports bag full of Magnification Equipment. That did not detract Yae one bit. She actually raised an eyebrow at my comment and lifted the Magnification Equipment bag that I found heavy with one finger on the strap. The bag that was heavy enough that I couldn’t budge it was picked up with ease.

“Compared to my bag, this feels empty, Touya,” Yae told me. It was more like a purse to her than a gym bag. I didn’t have any extra time to remark at her statement as after picking that up Yae bent down and put both of her hands around my stomach. “Ehehehe~ And here we go!”

“Gwah!” I felt my feet leave the ground. They dangled in the air by her knees as Yae brought me up to her torso. For a moment, I was worried when she removed one hand, but as it turned out, she only needed one hand to hold me in place as she pressed my body against hers. She used her other hand to carry her Magnified items as well as my normal sized ones.

“See? This is pretty easy,” Yae was proud of her accomplishment. “You’re super light, Touya.”

Considering her muscle mass had grown with her, I must have weighed less than a bowling ball to her. Glancing around, I could see we were getting looks, but our schoolmates knew well enough to keep away from lovey-dovey couples having a moment. Well, we were lovey-dovey, but we weren’t a couple yet. They at least gave us the opportunity to walk out of the entrance and towards the gates.

Before we could leave however, I could see one girl in particular who literally stood above the crowd.

“Takahashi, stop grinning,” I frowned.

Though she was staying with the other girls for the program, our mutual friend Takahashi came to see us off. It wasn’t hard to miss her standing by the gate. She could sit on it if she wanted to because it was under waist high to her, but she’d probably break it so she didn’t. She was alone because the regular sized students didn’t want to be knocked down or stepped over by her if she moved. She had a bemused smile on her face as she saw me pressed against Yae.

“No can do, Kirishima. This is too funny of a sight to not laugh at,” she told me as she moseyed her away towards us. “You’re like a little baby like this.”

Slap!

“Hii!” I yipped when I felt a sting as the girl playfully slapped my butt from behind. With my body dangling in the air and held in place by Yae’s arm, I couldn’t resist the surprising impact.

“Huh? Wow. That was some sound,” the offender in question was surprised too. She looked at her hand for a second before looking back down at me. “Hey, Kirishima, hold still. I want to hear that again.”

“A-Aoi-chan!” Yae was defensive but she couldn’t do anything to guard me while holding everything.

“Hey, that’s reserved for Yae only. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that in public, Pervert-hashi,” I remarked. 

“Perv-?” Takahashi was about to respond to my insulting nickname to her, but she then recalled that we were still outside. While there wasn’t anyone we knew nearby, it was going to be hard to miss Takahashi slapping my butt and asking to do it again. “Gah… My bad. I couldn’t resist. It was just there so I jus- No, wait. That just makes me look worse. Spanking isn't my thing, I swear.”

It was stunning to think I actually was able to make Takahashi stand down with that one comment. For a moment, I was proud of myself, but it was hard to be confident while unable to firmly plant my feet on the ground. 

“Sorry, Kirishima,” apologized Takahashi. “I’ll remember next time that Asano’s the only one who gets to be up close and personal with you with that sort of ‘play’.”

“I-I don’t think I’m into that,” Yae wasn’t actually sure of her own answer. “But Touya did sound cute when he squeaked like that...”

I hoped Takahashi wasn’t awakening any interests in Yae, but quite honestly, she probably had those assertive interests to begin with. Her idea of punishment games could be quite cruel after all.

“Aoi-chan, are you staying in the gym today?” Yae asked, changing the subject. She adjusted the way she held me so that I wouldn’t slip away from her, but in doing that, she shoved her weighty breasts into my face. I felt I would’ve gotten a concussion if she had jerked suddenly. Though they were soft, they had more mass than a bowling ball.

“Ow! Yae, hold on,” I alerted her.

“Huh? Wah. Sorry, Touya! Let me hold you better,” Yae heard me.

“Huh? Hii! Yae that’s-”

I was caught off guard when I was suddenly groped from behind by a hand larger than my butt. To better carry me, Yae had to pick me up. Her hand slid under my butt and lifted my legs. She then shoved her arm closer to her breasts, causing me to be practically blanketed by them. In the end, I found Yae let me rest against her upper arm like a pillow while my body was supported by her forearm. It felt like an awkward way to hold a baby.

“Um… Asano, that’s not how you hold a baby,” Takahashi agreed with my mental assessment.

“I only have one hand free right now, Aoi-chan. And this is fine, right, Touya?” Yae pouted at being called out on not holding me properly. I didn’t want to be considered a baby in this situation but her grand height made anybody regular sized look like an infant to her.

“It’s fine, though a little surreal,” I answered. Yae agreed with my assessment.

“Right… Well, whatever floats your boat, Kirishima,” Takahashi shrugged. She then got back on topic. In response to Yae’s question, the girl nodded. “Well, anyways, yeah. I’m staying with the other girls here. You’re missing out on a gym sleepover, Asano, though I guess spending the night with Kirishima does sound more appealing to you.”

“It absolutely is,” Yae was honest. “I’m a little worried about fitting in the house, but Touya said he did have some ideas.”

“Really?” Takahashi was impressed. “Kirishima, you’ve got to tell me. I was having such a rough time this morning. How are you going to manage dealing with Asano at this size?”

I had my ways, though I had to admit I was not exactly confident.

“Hey, don’t spoil the surprise. Yae’s got to experience it first,” I told her.

Though she was disappointed, Takahashi did understand from being my temporary health committee replacement back then that surprises were meant to be kept. She waved us good by as Yae literally stepped over the gate and carried us home. Neither of us could hide the red blush on our faces that we developed as everyone around us stared at the sight of the 5 meter girl carrying a high school boy in her arms on the way home.

“By the way, Touya… about that apology...” Yae broke the mood with one last statement.

I groaned, realizing Yae didn’t forget. I couldn’t avoid her now that she was carrying me. 

It took a while to manage to stammer out that I forgave her. Well, not too long as I did tell her before we got to my house.

Perhaps it was because Yae and I didn’t want to be seen for too long while she walked through the neighborhood at her very obvious height or perhaps it was because of her longer legs increasing her stride - whatever the case, our walk home was ridiculously quick. We arrived at my house in no time at all.

There was our first hurdle.

“Um… Touya… I don’t think I’m going to fit through the door anymore...”

“I think you can still crawl through. Your butt’s not that big yet,” I remarked from the doorway. “And there’s plenty of room to stand inside.”

“Can’t we just use the bands? I don’t want to break the door frame.”

“And leave me small in my own house? No way. This is your week right now, so I’m going to refuse whenever I can.”

“Grr… I know you have a point, but I don’t like that. Fine, but remember: you asked for it.”

Creak… Crack...

Though I had reassured Yae that everything would be fine, I realized my own error the moment she put her foot down on the wooden flooring of my home. The house made sounds that it had never made before, bending under Yae’s literal ton of weight. 

“I told you this was going to be a problem.”

“And I told you it wasn’t,” I continued to reject Yae’s concerns as I looted the bag of Magnification Equipment. There was something I knew about that was going to be provided by the government, and I was right. “Here we go.”

What I pulled out was an alien looking disc shaped device. It was bulky and heavy, so I had to hold it with both hands, but it was definitely the item I had been looking for. I placed it on the floor of the house and pressed the bright red button that was on the side of it.

Schwiiiing!

In an instant, the center of the metal disc opened up. A metal tower made of retractable metal plates sprung up to form what looked like a lightning rod. I could see from the display on the bottom that the device was good to go.

“W-What’s that, Touya?” Yae was surprised at the strange machine I had started up.

I ignored Yae for a moment, pressing the blue button that started blinking because the device’s central tower was now up. It was quieter than I thought it’d be - dead silent as it began spinning.

Immediately, the two of us could feel the air change as a pulse erupted from the tower. Moreover, it felt as though an electric tingle ran through my body. I could tell the protection was now present.

“There we go. The Dual-Layer Field is on. Now you don’t have to worry about breaking anything here,” I told her.

“Dual- what?” Yae had no idea what I just said, but when she took a step back in again, she found that the floor was a lot more sturdier than before. In fact, even when she put her hand on the door frame as she bent down to get under it, it did not crack or break. “Huh? What did you do, Touya? Everything’s stronger now.”

I smirked. Magnification Equipment 3 was the DL Field Generator. It was no surprise that Yae had no idea what this machine was as this was one thing I had to go out of my way to research when trying to see how I could manage having Yae in my home.

“This thing uses the same principles as Magnification to put what’s basically a barrier around everything in a 20 m radius,” I told her. “Basically everything is as sturdy as it would be as if it were Reduced. They’re put in buildings that use Magnification to make sure they don’t get destroyed.”

Though I said that, I wondered if we would have gotten this if Sasakura-sensei’s sister hadn’t liked my report as I was told initially that it would be hard to get a home version of one when I made the request. It made sense. These were expensive machines to the point where only absurdly wealthy corporations had one. Even the SDF was limited in how many theys had. I didn’t tell Yae about this though. She seemed happy enough to be able to move around my house freely.

“Ngggn~~~!” she made a cute sound as she stretched her body. The high ceilings of my two story home’s living room made it possible for the 5 meter girl to do so… though she could readily touch the ceiling if she actually put her hands over her head. “Well if it works then I don’t have to worry anymore. Let’s take a break then, Touya. I want to relax now that we’re home.”

While I did want to do that as well, I knew we couldn’t exactly do that right away. Among the things that were necessary to do when we got home, setting up the Field Generator was only the first. “Sorry, Yae. We’re going to have to wait on that until after we do one more thing first.”

The look of disappointment on Yae’s face was amusing. She slunk to the floor, spreading her legs. Half of the living room was taken up by her alone as her left leg pushed our sofa back. “Eh? No way. Can’t I take a rest?”

“Now, now. We can do what you want after this,” I told her with a chuckle as I started to rummage through the sports bag again. I pulled out the thing we needed. I couldn’t hide the smile plastered on my face from Yae who was suddenly worried. 

“Touya, I’m not sure I like that look on your face. You look way too happy…”

What I had taken out was a single aerosol can. It was extremely small in amount considering the entire can was as long as my index finger, but the lone spray had been provided as Magnification Equipment number 4.

“What’s that, Touya?”

“We’re supposed to apply this to you right when we get home,” I told her. “This is Sensitivity Raiser Spray. Apparently, the effect gets stronger over time, so we’re supposed to have you use this so that it takes effect by tomorrow.”

“Sensitivity raiser?” Yae tilted her head. “Why would I need that? Didn’t you have your senses weakened when you shrank?”

And it was because Yae was growing instead of shrinking that she needed this. When she got too big, she was not going to be able to notice or realize many things unless her sensitivity increased.

“Let’s see, the whole can, huh? Good. I remember how rough it was when you did this to me before,” I took a step closer to Yae. I was going to get a little payback from back during Reduction Week. The girl flinched when I climbed onto her thighs and skirt to get close. I still couldn’t reach the seated 523 cm tall girl’s face even while on her. 

“B-Be gentle, Touya.”

“I don’t know how gentle a spray-can can be. Just open wide and breathe it all in.”  

Fwoooooosh!

“Hiyaah! Cough! Cough!” I sprayed the cloud of pink gas upwards into Yae’s face directly. She breathed it in immediately and started coughing while I held my breath and tried to keep my head low as the Sensitivity Raiser entered her system. “T-That was- Cough! Too much! Cough! Cough!”

As Yae coughed and coughed, she tried to pull away from me, but because I was literally on her legs, she could only lean back. I took advantage of this and crawled up from her thighs up to her stomach. It made it easier for me to get on top of her as she leaned all the way back until she was on the floor with me continuing to spray the can into her face.

“Gyah! Stop! Cough! I’ve breathed -coughcough- in enough- Cough- already, right?” Yae continued coughing. Her eyes were closed so the gas wouldn’t get in her eyes. 

I felt bad doing this to Yae, getting on top of her and pinning her down.  I didn’t want to get used to this as assaulting Yae like this was never something I wanted to do if it scared it. At the very least, the size difference between us clearly made this assault a lot more comical than frightening. I could feel her muscles tense. She could have easily thrown me off with how strong she had gotten, but she was actively trying not to struggle because she knew that would be bad for me.

“Haaah… Haaaaah… Haaaah…,” I could hear Yae’s deep breaths when the can ran out and the gas dissipated. “Touya, that was mean… Haaah...”

“I had to do it,” I told her bluntly. Her torso was like a bed to me. She had pushed away the two sofas in my living room with her body as she lay on the ground. She was larger than each of them.“So how do you feel?”

I probably needn’t have asked. I could feel Yae trembling as I was on top of her. The Sensitivity Spray was taking effect. Though it was supposed to be weak at the start, it must have been noticeable to Yae. A pink tint was clear on her face as she took note of her amplified senses.

“T-Touya…”

“Yes?”

There was something about Yae’s voice when she called my name that felt off. She could definitely feel me better now thanks to the spray, even through her clothes. I didn’t realize how strong of an effect the spray had on her until a hand larger than my head grabbed me and slammed me right down into her stomach.

“Mmpfff?!?”

“Kyahahaha~ W-Wah! Wow! That tickles~!”

“Mghrgh… What? Mpffff!”

“Hyah~! Touya, don’t breathe there! That’s my belly button!” I heard Yae’s excited cry as she pressed my face deeper into her stomach. I could feel the rough fabric of her summer uniform against my skin. I only stopped struggling when she finally relaxed the pressure she put on me. “Touya, this feels super surreal. It’s like I can easily tell you’re on me.” 

“... Isn’t that a good thing?” I tried to lift my head up but Yae’s hand kept me in place.

“I-I think? I-It’s strange though. It kind of feels… good… with you on me like that...”

“Huh? You don’t mean...”

“Ngnn… Touya… Can you stay there a bit longer…?” Yae couldn’t resist asking.

I could hear an embarrassed tone when Yae said that. Her embarrassment was enough for me to put two and two together to understand what she meant. I turned red as well. Was this normal with the spray or had I made Yae breathe in too much? I was told to use the whole can.  

“W-Well, this is necessary considering this was on the list of things I had to do to you when you got back,” I tried to redirect the conversation. “Now that we’re done, you can have your break now, Yae.”

Yae frowned, hearing my cowardice. “Touya, you suck. I don’t want a break now after you made me feel like this. And you promised I can do what I want when we were done with that.”

“Hey, I’m all for you shoving me against you right now,” I responded with complete honesty, “but if Ayame-san catches us like this, we’re dead meat. And you know she’ll be coming.”

Though it was true that I looked like a kid on a mattress due to Yae’s size compared to me, I was still straddling her. We wouldn’t hear the end of it from Yae’s mother if she came over to check up on us at this exact moment. My fear of being scolded by her was greater than my own adolescent desires.

It seemed Yae shared the same sentiment. I could feel her shiver as a chill ran down her spine while I was on top of her.

“W-Whoa!”

I fell off of my not-girlfriend and onto my back as my body turned horizontal when Yae sat up straight. Yae had regained her senses because her own concern for being lectured by her mother was even greater than mine.

“Y-Yeah, I guess you’re right. Let’s just take a break. If Okaa-san’s coming, there’d be no way for me to hide,” Yae closed up her legs quickly. The sheer speed and force at which she did that made the end table in the living room fall over.

Though it was disappointing for us to have to stop, the two of us made the right call. Ten minutes after things had settled down between us enough to stop awkwardly avoiding eye contact with one another, the Asano mother used the spare key to my house to enter, just as we had expected.