HIH: A Ch. 23 Part 1 (Patreon)

A preview of Half Inch High: Alternative Chapter 23!!

Chapter 23: Full set

Makoto didn’t know how to react. She thought Megumi was crazy for even talking to her, let alone wanting to become friends with her, after what she did and now this. Every sane bone in her body was telling her to just call the girl dumb and walk off but the sheer look of determination on Megumi’s face didn’t look like someone carelessly trying to make amends or something. Her lips quivered and Furyu’s menacing stare adding more pressure certainly didn’t help. So many conflicting emotions began running through her head and whether it was instinctual or a result of her nervousness, Makoto’s face began to contort into a smug and villainous grin. She had no idea what to even say but she knew that she had to say something.

“Interesting…” We’re the only words she that came out. The evil look on her face didn’t exactly make the situation better. After a second or two of awkwardness, Makoto bolted out of the room and made her way back to the gym with a look of pure embarrassment plastered across her face. She was trying to say how it was interesting that she’d say something so stupid but she completely dropped the ball. The other three planned on doing that too, but they needed to have a little chat first. Furyu stared blankly at Megumi. She couldn’t decide whether to be mad or bewildered by her decisions.

“What the hell is goin’ on in that head of yours.” Furyu sighed. She didn’t want Makoto to join and was glad that she didn’t flat-out accept her offer, but she knew Megumi was planning something so she wasn’t too angry. Regardless, she still needed to scold her. “You needa stop going solo on this kinda stuff. I know I let you go help that… girl, but that’s all I thought you were gonna do. Next time you wanna pull a stunt like that just inform ALL of us before jumpin’ right in, OK?” She said, very softly karate chopping her on the head. Smiling at Furyu, Megumi couldn’t help but be happy about how things were turning out. She didn’t exactly get the reaction she was hoping for but it was good enough for her. Being optimistic about Makoto eventually joining, her confidence about the future shot up. She couldn’t wait to tell everyone the news!

Happily agreeing with Furyu’s terms, she tied her hair back once more and jumped out of the infirmary bed. After that, she instinctively reached into Furyu’s pocket to give Rentaro some extra context, though she was quite surprised to see just how… empty he looked. Holding him gently in her hand she asked if he was OK only to be met with an odd silence. Thankfully, Megumi could still tell that he was alive but his unresponsive behavior started to worry her. Placing him gently on the bed, she slid over to Furyu to ask what happened while she was gone.

“Uh… I dunno. I didn’t really have time to process it since I headed straight over to you after finding him. I found him alone in the storage room with some girl from the other class and that’s pretty much all I know.” She shrugged, only now noticing how dead inside he looked. In her head, she was starting to feel bad about not being mindful of his situation.

“Hmmm, ‘alone in the storage room?’ Aha! I got it!” She said ecstatically. “Rentaro was probably counseling that girl and she probably said some things about herself that made him feel really sad!” She was completely wrong.

“The hell did you get that?!” Furyu yelled. “Regardless, before we head out we should probably comfort him. I ain’t good with emotions and shit like that so by ‘we’ I mean you.” She said giving her a light shove in Rentaro’s direction.

Looking down at him, she wondered what the best way to approach him would be. He didn’t exactly look sad or angry. The way he just stayed there silent reminded her of a dead fish and the mere thought of a dead fish almost caused Megumi to burst out in tears. Confident in her ability to comfort her friends, she just winged it and decided to use her classic technique.

“Don’t worry… everything’s gonna be alright~” Almost like a mother coddling a child, she brought Rentaro in close and very gently pressed him against her ample chest just like they did when she found him in the hallway on her first day of school. While it wasn’t exactly that long ago, the hug filled both of them with a nostalgic feeling. It took a bit longer than it did when they first met, but the sound of Megumi’s heartbeat and her loving embrace finally broke Rentaro’s seemingly empty trance. After a couple more seconds of hugging, Megumi pulled away and brought the traumatized tiny up to her face to see if he was ok. He didn’t look too happy which made Megumi a little distraught, but he was at least responding and moving again. Happy that Rentaro was somewhat back to normal and not wanting to get in trouble, she decided it’d be best if she asked him about what happened at a later date. After putting a few things back, the three of them went back to the gym but before they left, Megumi whispered something in Furyu’s ear.

“You know… Mai reacted the same way when I wanted you to join the club. And look how that turned out~” She giggled, running off ahead. While Furyu was still conflicted, her doubts about what Megumi was planning slowly began to fade. Getting back with little under 10 minutes left in class, all three of them were eager to change back into their normal uniforms, but they were met with a slight delay upon entering the gymnasium.

“WE’RE SORRY!!!” The boys playing volleyball yelled, groveling on the floor for forgiveness. As much as it hurt to get hit in the head with a volleyball she was completely ok with it. Not only did Megumi understand that it was an accident but thanks to them she got to have a private one-on-one with Makoto. Though, having almost a dozen boys prostrate themselves in front of her was more than a little awkward. Bashfully accepting their apology Megumi retreated into the locker room with Furyu and the other girls.

“Hmm, you said you found Rentaro in the storage room with some girl from the other class, right? Do you know what she looks like?” Megumi asked.

“Oh, I didn’t catch that good of a look but they had peach-colored hair and glasses. She kinda stands out so she shouldn’t be that hard to find…” Looking around the locker room, she saw no sight of the “girl” she saw with Rentaro. Tired of looking for people, she gave up relatively fast and shrugged, thinking they left early. When everyone got done changing and started to leave, she finally saw them. They were waiting sheepishly outside the boy’s locker room waiting for all the other boys to leave. While Furyu did find it odd, she didn’t really think too much of it and left after pointing them out to Megumi. They looked pretty nervous so Megumi decided that it would be best not to disturb them and left after picking up Rentaro.

The next class flew by and before they knew it, lunchtime had arrived. Eating in the club room, Megumi patiently ate with Mai, Furyu, and Rentaro while Tomoya had his eyes glued to the screen of his laptop and Shinako ate her lunch sheepishly behind a pencil case. Mutsuhiro, despite all his supposed passion and insistence from a couple of days ago, was out eating lunch with his friends. As Megumi made small talk, her mind was preoccupied with two things. The next step for the club and how long it’d take Makoto to join the club. With a smile on her face, she swayed happily side to side, unbeknownst to the fact that Furyu had revealed to the rest of the club that Megumi had essentially tried to scout Makoto.

“I thought I’d stop being surprised after the first few picks, but this is just bizarre.” Mai looked at Megumi with a face of utter confusion. To her, Makoto was just another cold-hearted bully like Alice or Sekira. After all the trouble she and her group caused for Megumi, Rentaro, and Tomoya, Mai couldn’t even begin to understand why she’d want her in the club. Tomoya also had his objections. Not only was he understandably spiteful towards her, Tomoya also just didn’t like “normie gals” like her to begin with. And while he did voice his negative opinions towards Megumi, his tiny complaints went largely unnoticed as his typical vulgarities were easy to tune out.

“Well, since almost everyone is here, I guess it’s OK if I explain why.” Poking her head out into the hallway for a quick second, Megumi checked to see if anyone was coming before sliding the door shut. After making sure no one outside could hear her she was ready to explain her reasoning…