Haphazardly scrolling through his contacts he scrambled to give her a call. Eagerly waiting for her to answer, he heard the dial tone followed by the faint sound of Megumi’s ringtone from above. The faint sound filled him with optimism for a few moments before the ground beneath him began to rumble. Before the first dial tone finished Megumi recoiled at the sound of her own phone’s default ringtone. Her foot lurched back causing Shuichi to be slammed against the roof of her shoe and tossed back down to the insole. With a pained groan, he picked himself up from the floor still optimistic that this unfortunate situation would end soon, but as he looked towards his hand his heart dropped.
“What the hell!?” Looking around he saw the faint light from his phone amidst the darkness, and while he did manage to find it, the place it was in wasn't exactly ideal. Resting dangerously under the ball of Megumi’s foot, its light shining directly onto her thick wool socks. In the distance, he saw the faint appearance of a message notification pop up on its screen before the rumbling stopped and Megumi’s foot came back down, smothering the phone completely. “Sorry!! ^^; I’m in class. I’ll call you when it’s over!! <3” While it was hard to read, a certain under-used part of Shuichi’s brain was able to clarify the text fairly quickly. That was the first message he’s read from her in a good while and it genuinely brought a small tear to his eye. He had hoped to preserve the text once this was all over, but the sharp cracking sound he heard soon after wiping his tears crushed those hopes as well as his phone to pieces.
All in all, it wasn't the biggest loss for Shuichi. All his important data and pictures were backed up to the cloud, and the boy's family was more than capable of getting him a new phone. Losing the text was a bummer but at the end of the day, it was enough to give Shuichi the motivation to do anything but just stand around and wait. Dusting himself off, he latched onto the thick wool sock. Attempting to climb up to the top of her foot, his body clung tightly to her big toe and his face was now buried in the fabric. While he still wouldn't consider it unpleasant, the smell and heat were a lot stronger than it was when he first entered. After a couple of minutes, he finally made it. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he took a rest on top of her big toe before continuing his trek across the top of her foot. Her shoe clung tightly to her thick wool sock so it wouldn’t be easy, but thanks to Megumi's text, he actually had the energy to push forward.
Every step brought the roof of the shoe closer and closer, while every minuscule movement from Megumi's foot would spam him into it. From how erratic and often she moved her foot, Shuichi guessed that she might have been doing some kind of test, or maybe she was bored. Either way, it for sure didn't make his journey easier. The space was already claustrophobic, but being pinned to the roof of her shoe and buried in a thick bed of cotton for minutes at a time added a whole other level of difficulty. Half an hour had passed, the tiny boy was now forced to crawl, and only now did he start to see slight traces of light from the tiny gap between her sock and the opening of her shoe. Shuichi was ecstatic, or he was at least until a familiar sound echoed throughout the school. A bell sound signaled the end of class and it was followed by the loud chatter of everyone nearby. Amidst the chaos Shuichi heard the sound of Megumi's voice, causing him to stop crawling so he could hear her more clearly.
“Weird… he’s not picking up.” She sighed.
“Who’s not pickin’ up? The guy who called you durin’ class?” A tomboyish voice asked.
“Yeah, it’s really weird. Shuichi hasn’t called me in almost a year, I hope he’s alright.” Megumi’s worried tone both comforted him and made him regretful about being so careless.
“I’m sure he’s fine. I mean, from what you told me about him before, there shouldn’t be much to worry about. In any case, maybe he just wanted to hear you again. It’s that time of year after all…” Shuichi was ecstatic. For some reason, the brutish words of this random girl he didn't even know made him so happy. Rubbing up against the top of her foot, the young boy was so excited that Megumi cared enough to actually talk to her friends about him. With yet another boost to both his ego and his motivation, Shuichi had heard enough and continued his climb. But amongst the sound of rubbing cloth, he heard something extremely concerning.
"Now stop worryin' and hurry up, we've got gym." Feeling the intense movements of Megumi's steps once more, Shuichi realized he had wasted his chance. Step by step, no matter how hard he tried to hold on, each step brought him back down towards the toe section of the shoe. His progress may have been reversed but it wasn't all bad. As worrying as being inside someone's shoe during gym class was, Shuichi eventually understood that he'd soon be given another chance to escape. Struggling to not get crushed under her big toe, the tiny boy began to notice something.
At first, he thought it was just all the physical activities he was doing, but there was no longer any doubt. Megumi’s body heat was higher than it was before. Mixed with his own sweat, was the steaming humidity and moisture that was currently radiating off of Megumi’s foot. Breathing heavily from the heat as well as some “other” emotions, he closed his eyes and held on tighter, desperately praying for this to be over soon. Up and down, and up and down— There wasn’t anything different about how Megumi was walking, but for some reason, the vertigo was exponentially more intense. Perhaps it was the heat, or maybe he was only now getting flustered from Megumi’s scent, either way, the poor tiny was way too dizzy to even think about it. While not on the verge of throwing up yet, Shuichi was beginning to hit his limit.
And while he was expecting a much harsher journey, it seemed like luck had finally cut him some slack. In the distance amidst all the chaos, he heard the squeaking of shoes against the rubber finish of what was undoubtedly the school's gym. Surprisingly, Shuichi had managed to persevere and as the squeaking was replaced by the echoing sounds of chit-chat among female students, he knew his opportunity to escape was near. Getting his bearings, he took a deep breath before mentally preparing himself. A loud metallic thud was heard, and before Shuichi knew it, Megumi's foot began to slowly wriggle out of the shoe. Light flooded the shoe and a wave of fresh air flooded in. Shuichi wasted no time in his attempt to escape, jumping onto her socked big toe, he held on tight hoping to ride it out of the shoe. In theory, there wasn't anything wrong with this plan, but in practice, Shuichi very quickly realized that he didn't have the strength nor the grip to properly hold on for too long. The slightest tilt from Megumi's foot was enough to physically strain the tiny boy. Before he could even see the outside world, Shuichi’s noodle arms gave out and he came plummeting back down onto the insole.
Exhausted, he stared up into the sky, longingly at Megumi as she changed into her gym uniform. The walls of the shoe were too high to climb, and despite how hopeless the situation seemed, Shuichi couldn’t help but enjoy the view. Watching her ample chest become free from her school uniform only to be quickly trapped within a tight gym shirt was a sight he never thought he’d be able to see. Granted, it was not even remotely worth the suffering he went through, but it was something nice to distract him from the fact that he’d soon be in for a full gym session with Megumi’s feet… or so he thought.
“Geez, Megumi. If I didn’t know any better… I’d say you’ve grown a couple of sizes since I last saw these things.” While the shoe had cut off his vision, it was plain to see that someone had cupped Megumi’s boobs from behind. That perverted voice and the slight appearance of green hair tipped Shuichi off immediately! With an angry expression on his face and a slight nosebleed, he watched on reluctantly as his other normal-sized female “friend” playfully groped Megumi. Staring intently at Megumi’s blushing face as she tried to free herself from the girl’s grasp, was almost hypnotizing— hypnotizing enough to distract him from the fact that the two were heading straight for the shoe he was in. The dark shadow of Megumi’s boobs blanketed the shoe and in an instant, it was knocked away. Shuichi was thrown all about before being slammed into the wall of the shoe. When his vision readjusted he saw something remarkable. Right before his eyes, was the tiled floor of the locker room.
It was hard to believe at first, but Shuichi found himself face to face with an extremely lucky break. The shoe had tipped over and the once unscalable walls were no longer an obstacle. Without a moment of hesitation, he sprung to his feet and made a mad dash towards the entrance. Right before he could cross over, he realized that this so-called lucky break was yet another source of false hope as a pair of toned legs came into view. Tipping the shoe back to an upright position, the unlucky tiny fell right back onto the insole. Confused about who cut his escape short, he barely got a look at her face before her foot began creeping into the shoe.
Within seconds, Shuichi could already tell this was gonna be awful. An exponentially stronger odor flooded the inside of the shoe, and despite having considerably and more breathable-looking socks, they looked as if they were completely stained with sweat, and riddled with tears and holes. The poor tiny gulped, running towards the toe section for dear life. He didn’t even question why this supposedly random girl was about to wear Megumi’s shoe, the only thing running through his mind was NOT ending up underneath the girl’s horrifying sock. Luckily he was able to make it, but he was beginning to regret it, as being trapped next to such a malodorous object was practically torture. Eyes watering, he desperately held his nose trying not to be smothered by the girl’s sweat. Shuichi was a fan of athletic girls, but he was beginning to think that this girl was a little too athletic. Consciousness fading, he wanted to get out fast. But seeing as there was no way out, Shuichi was forced to make a move that he hoped he wouldn’t regret. Crawling into one of the many holes that were scattered across her sock, he seriously hoped he’d be able to get her attention. A thick miasma tore at his soul as he slowly banged his tiny arms against the girl’s toe flesh. Tears of desperation and disgust clouded his vision before his consciousness faded completely and his body was left propped up against her big toe. It didn’t take long for his consciousness to return though.
“What the hell…” When Shuichi came to, he found himself in someone’s hand. Analyzing his surroundings, he saw the disgusted face of a tomboyish girl staring daggers into the tiny’s very soul. She didn’t need to say a word, for her gaze was more than enough to completely terrify him. Clambering over his words, he tried explaining himself to no avail. Anticipation was tearing away at him. He could feel himself getting crushed at any moment. Wincing, he braced himself before a familiar voice called out to the girl.
“Why do you look so angry, Furyu? And who’s tha-” Locking eyes with Shuichi, her jaw dropped and her arms instinctively reached out towards him. Stealing him away from Furyu, she held him in her caring grasp, whilst she explained who he was. Shuichi at that point had completely tuned everything out. After such a roller coaster of emotions, he felt an insurmountable amount of joy being reunited with her. Being held by her soft hands again after almost a year, was like a dream and everything he had to go through to get to this point felt like a forgettable nightmare. But their reunion wasn’t as sweet as either of them hoped. After explaining to Megumi how he wanted to surprise her, she went completely silent. A look of disappointment and contemplation was the last thing he saw from her before he was dropped into her bag along with her phone, presumably to save him the boredom of waiting an entire school day. A wave of guilt washed over him, and for a good reason too. While he never expected things to go this way, the fact that he decided to do this whole surprise thing in the first place was extremely negligent. Thinking about just how many times things could’ve ended badly, and more importantly, how Megumi would react if things did end badly filled his heart with pain. A pain that wouldn’t go away until hours later, when school had ended and the two of them finally had the opportunity to talk.
Sat down at a mall's food court, the two stared awkwardly at each other. Megumi's expression still had a hint of sadness, and Shuichi still felt guilty. While they had been friends for a while, neither of them had any experience when it came to romance, especially after they spent almost an entire year apart with little to no contact. Breaking eye contact, Shuichi’s gaze roamed towards all the lovey-dovey couples around them. Taking pictures in front of all the Christmas decorations, kissing under light snowfall, and holding hands. Somehow, despite being in a relationship, all those sappy displays of affection annoyed Shuichi… or he thought he was annoyed at least. In reality, his spite was undoubtedly jealousy. Seeing all the stuff that “normal” couples would do and comparing it to all the stuff that the two of them have done as a couple was filling his brain with doubt.
“Could what we have together even be considered a relationship? Perhaps going back to being friends was the right move?” He thought to himself, staring back at Megumi. Expecting her to still be looking sadly at him, he was pleasantly surprised to see her focus diverted elsewhere. Staring at a large Christmas tree in the middle of the mall, her eyes sparkled. Beautifully reflecting the distant lights in the deep violet hue of her eyes. It was entrancing, and most importantly, it was enough to remind the tiny boy of how much he loved Megumi. When Megumi finally snapped herself out of the trance, Shuichi knew what he had to do. Confidently, she asked her to bring him closer to her face. With a bit of reluctance, she did and Megumi was instantly reminded of the day he confessed to her. Taking a deep breath, he made his move.
Nothing to stop him, and without a moment of hesitation, he dived right in. Plunging his face against Megumi’s plush lips, he heard a surprised “eep” escape from her mouth before he pulled away. Trying to contain his blush whilst starting at Megumi’s, he cleared his throat.
“L-Look, sorry again for putting myself in danger and I promise that it won’t happen again, but I really want you to know that…” Taking another deep breath, he averted his gaze. “That, no matter how far away we are from each other and no matter how much time we’re apart, I will always love you!!!” Shuichi yelled, his face turning beat red. Shuichi’s words lingered on Megumi’s mind and a joyful smile appeared on her face. Being as romantically dense as she is, a strong sense of doubt lingered on her mind from the moment he confessed to her.
“I’m so happy…” She said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “When you confessed to me, I didn’t think I could actually be a proper girlfriend… especially with how I am when it comes to stuff like this. To top it off, I had to transfer and—” Stammering, she placed Shuichi onto the table.
“I just thought that maybe you’d be better off without me…”
“I couldn’t imagine myself with anyone else,” Shuichi said, secretly smug over how cool that line was. Happy about how productive their talk was, the tiny boy held his hands out hoping to get a hug. And a hug he did receive. Picking him and pressing him against her chest, the two shared a gentle hug as Christmas lights glimmered in the light snowfall.
“Hopefully Akane doesn’t hear about what happened today.” Megumi said, still hugging him
“Oh… crap.”
-THE END-