Walking through the halls, neither Megumi nor her classmates ever expected that they’d be heading to the gym first thing in the morning. It was far too late to question Ms. Shizuka about it and it’s not like anyone had the energy to complain. The waxed hardwood floor squeaked, and the class began piling in. Holding Rentaro in her gentle grasp Megumi, who was now given a proper chance to take a look around without having to focus on introducing herself to everyone in her class, was bursting with excitement. While it was nowhere near as large as Okisana’s one, the quaint nature of Hanichi's gym was a little endearing to Megumi and she couldn’t help but stand there with a beaming smile on her face while Ms. Shizuka explained what exactly they were doing there. 

"I know it's early, but due to an impromptu absence, you’ll be sharing the gym with class 2-A.” She said, her commanding voice echoing throughout the gym while she stood staring at a clipboard, silently taking attendance as both classes sat down on the bleachers. Surprisingly, despite transferring a couple of days ago, the eccentric Fujo was continuing the string of absences that plagued her record from Okisana. With a sigh, she brought her hands to her temple and faced the class.

“Well, I did have a lesson planned for today, but given the nature of the situation, and the absence of class 2-A’s teacher… I suppose I wouldn’t mind giving you this period off.” Ms. Shizuka explained with a hint of resentment in her voice. “This technically counts as PE, so I expect everyone to get changed.” She said, exiting the gym and heading to the teacher’s lounge. Left alone, the two classes piled into the locker rooms to get changed. Due to the possible hazards thanks to the influx of people, the micro-students were heavily encouraged to change into their gym uniforms on the bleachers, but aside from some light peeking from a few perverted micro boys, it wasn’t much of a problem for any of them, however, the same couldn’t be said for the normal-sized girls in the women's locker room.

While Megumi struggled to change into her tight gym clothes an interesting scene popped into her peripheral. In the distance was a very familiar girl with trendy almond brown hair, and a pair of cherry-shaped earrings. Her hair was tied into pigtails, and her face was contorted into a disgusted gaze as she stared blankly into her gym bag. It was a girl who had caused much strife for Megumi and the others a little while ago: Makoto Masumi. At first, Megumi didn't know what to make of it, but as soon as she reached into her bag, everything became clearer. Empty bottles and scraps of trash fell to the floor as Makoto pulled her gym clothes out of it. Her shirt was completely vandalized. Riddled with stains from various soft drinks and ice tea, and scribbled on with a permanent marker. Megumi couldn't understand the cruelty, but as a certain delinquent would soon remind her, it seems as if she didn't quite understand the situation. 

Placing down her gym bag, she went to confront the girls in Makoto's class about it, but before she could step any further away from her locker, her path was blocked by Furyu.

“Oh, did you need something Furyu?” She asked, happily. Without even answering her question, it seemed as if Furyu was more than keen to stop whatever it was Megumi was about to do.

“Look, I get what you’re tryin’ to do, but please just drop it. Helpin' a girl like her ain't worth.” She said sternly, pulling Megumi closer to her. “Did you seriously forget what she and her lackeys tried to do to you!?” Staring at Megumi with an angry expression, she couldn’t help but feel a little bad for lecturing her like that, but she knew it was the only way to completely stop her. However, despite her efforts to intimidate Megumi, she was somehow able to keep an optimistic smile on her face. 

Grabbing her hand, she held it tightly with a look of determination on her face.

“Thank you for your concern, Furyu, but I can’t in good conscience let this slide…” Staring directly into Furyu’s eyes, she placed her hand on her chest and took a deep breath. At that moment, Megumi's deep purple eyes burned with an intimidating amount of determination. Despite how naive she seemed to be, Furyu knew there was no way she'd be able to stop her, and before she could give some kind of big speech, Furyu let go of her and turned her around to face the direction Makoto was in. 

"Yeah, yeah… I figured it wouldn't be possible to stop you, but it was worth a shot." Before she let her free though, she placed her hand gently against Megumi's shoulder. "However, if you get into any trouble you better not try and handle it alone. We're a club now, remember? I ain't gonna let you do everything on your own." Smiling back at Megumi, Furyu sent her on her way with a slight push, while not expecting to very swiftly be at the receiving end of a fairly energetic hug.

Burying her face in Furyu's less-than-modest bosom, she stopped hugging her only to gently pound her fists against her chest with an exaggerated whiney voice. 

"You're such a meanie! I had such a cool speech too! If you were just gonna let me go regardless, why didn't you do it earlier?!! Hmph!" After failing quite badly to pout, she broke into a cheerful giggle and wrapped her arms around Furyu once more. "Thanks again! I won't let you down—"

Turning back around, whatever enthusiasm she had vanished, when Megumi realized that Makoto was no longer there. Letting out a nervous laugh, she quickly changed into her gym uniform before running out of the locker room as fast as she could, all while yelling about how she wasn't gonna let Furyu down. With a sigh, Furyu stuffed her and Megumi's gym bag into a locker and headed out of the locker room to grab Rentaro and watch Megumi from the bleachers in case anything went wrong.

Out onto the gym’s floor, Megumi’s shoes screeched against the waxed hardwood floor as she came to a grinding halt. She scanned through groups of students till her eyes fell on a lonely Makoto sitting on the floor near the corner of the gym with a borrowed tracksuit. In the distance, a group of three stalked her from afar like lions. Their eyes beamed with evil intentions and their snickers reeked of a sickening aura. But while Megumi wanted to feel disgusted by this behavior, it wasn’t completely alien to her, and comparing it to what she saw in the “undergrounds of Okisana” made it look like playground roughhousing. She still needed to step in, but unlike Okisana, it wasn’t her role as a member of the student council that was driving her; it was her obligation to make things right.

Not letting the group of bullies draw closer, Megumi went in, much to Makoto’s disdain. Before she could even get a word in, Megumi sat down right next to the sullen former bully with an energetic smile in contrast to her annoyed glares. Despite repeated attempts to scoot further and further away, Megumi held firm, sticking as close as possible to Makoto until the two were arm to arm and pushed up against the gym wall. She was finally at her breaking point. Her irritation became more and more apparent, and while Megumi didn’t like the idea of annoying someone, she could tell Makoto wasn’t necessarily angry… 

Letting out an annoyed groan, she finally faced Megumi and looked at her with the angriest expression she could make. Her menacing magenta eyes stared daggers at Megumi’s stupidly happy expression but there was no way they would breach past her defenses. With intimidation out the window, Makoto held her head low and let out a pained sigh as she finally spoke up. 

“What the hell is your problem!?!” She yelled. “Look, cowtits. Are you dumb or something? I'm pretty sure my friends and I tried to kidnap your little 'boyfriend' and off that four-eyes nerd a couple of days ago. Do you think you're gonna accomplish some sick vengeance by trapping me against a wall? Was embarrassing me and ruining my reputation not enough?” Staring at her smile, Makoto was dumbfounded by how weird she was acting.

“What made you think I'm trying to trap you, hehe. It's not like I'm pinning you to the wall. You're free to leave if you really wanna, but that won't stop me from trying to talk to you!" She explained, happily. "Also Rentaro's just one of my best friends, I hope we didn't give you the wrong impression~" 

"Does it look like I give a— You know what, I honestly couldn't care less about that. And yeah, you are trapping me. If I was 'free to go’ as you said, those pack of hyena wh***s wouldn't be laughing at me from afar…" Looking towards the basketball court, she was surprised to see that the group of bullies had left her alone. For a moment, a slight smile appeared on Makoto's face, and with an amused chuckle, she looked down, shaking her head while contemplating about the weirdo right next to her. After a long and drawn-out pained groan, she looked at Megumi and took a deep breath. 

"Fine… if talking's all you wanna do, I guess I have nothing better to do." She said reluctantly, before looking at her with a more stern expression. "BUT! If you want me to join that 'micro-whatevers' club of yours, you might as well cut your losses."

"That's fine by me!" With a happy expression on her face and a successful feeling running through her veins, Megumi felt bouncier than ever and while she was still hesitant about Makoto, she felt as if she was slowly starting to understand her as a person. 

Meanwhile, across the gym, Furyu and Rentaro sat side by side watching Megumi from afar. While Furyu could easily tell that nothing had gone wrong yet, it was a different story for Rentaro. To a normal-sized person, the two were a couple of dozen feet away, however for a micro like Rentaro, it was more like a couple of dozen miles away. Appearing as towering blurry figures in the distance, the only thing reassuring the tiny was Furyu’s pleased expression which gave him a little peace of mind. 

“As expected.” She chuckled, choosing not to worry about the situation anymore. Stretching her arms, she pulled her feet up onto the bleachers and kicked back, laying down on the bleachers. “Still, didn’t that bimbo’s bimbo friend kidnap you last week? I still don’t get why she’d go out of her way to somethin’ as dumb as that.”

“Well, I can sorta understand why Megumi wants to become friends with her. She and I are firm believers in—” Before Rentaro could finish his sentence, he was cut off by an abrupt groan. 

“The fact that everyone deserves a second chance?’ Don’t know why I even asked.” She said mockingly. “Look, that mindset can get you places, but it ain’t good to keep believing everybody has some secret nice side. Some people are just rotten assholes and it’s somethin’ you gotta accept one of these days.” 

Rentaro laughed nervously, trying to think of something optimistic to say, hearing her say that almost gave him whiplash but it wasn't like Furyu was wrong. 

"Yeah I understand, but at the end of the day, I trust Megumi's instincts on this." He said resting his back against the side of Furyu's shoe. 

Thinking about what Rentaro said, Furyu let out a slight chuckle after finally realizing why Megumi seemed so sure of herself.

"Welp, I'm gonna catch some Zs! You better not try to squirm inside my shoe while I'm asleep or there'll be hell to pay!" Recalling what Rentaro's sister said at their study session, Furyu didn't want some tiny person trying to mess around near her feet, for their safety, and her own self-esteem. 

“Ehehe… Sleep well.” Laughing nervously, Rentaro found himself sitting alone by the side of the sleeping girl’s shoe. Not trying to upset her, Rentaro let out a pained sigh before distancing himself from the objects of his temptation, absent-mindedly watching his classmates mess around in the gymnasium as he walked across the length of bleachers.

The squeaking sounds and distant chatter were soon tuned out as he started to become lost in his thoughts. Furyu’s words had an interesting effect on him. While he had no intention of completely abandoning his beliefs, he started to think that maybe he was way too forgiving. He was almost traumatized and stripped completely naked upon being brought to the track team after being kidnapped by Chihiro. While he was given a truly arousing in-shoe experience on the way there, his odd lack of resentment towards any of the girls was beginning to come into question. But before any more pondering could be done, the tiny boy was thrown off his feet by a vicious and rhythmic quake. However, in reality, the footsteps were actually quite light compared to the shaking of other female students. The hollow underbelly of the bleachers amplified the strength and sound of each step. Unable to gain a footing, Rentaro watched as a shadow slowly fell over him. 

When he finally did get his footing back, all he could see was the bottom of a fairly skinny feminine student falling on him. The bright red fabric of her gym shorts was like a flaming meteor, and the tiny boy broke out into a full sprint. With barely enough time to escape, he felt the girl’s body heat get more and more intense, and saw as his surroundings grew darker and darker. No options left, Rentaro dove towards the light, narrowly escaping their shadow. Taking a sigh of relief, the tiny found himself between the girl’s thighs and upon getting his breath back, started to call up to the person who almost sat on him. 

Looking up at her, Rentaro watched as she tugged at her shirt in an attempt to cool down. Hoping that she’d notice him soon, he kept yelling up at her, and after a while, she finally started to notice his calls for help. Reaching for him and bringing Rentaro close to her face, she adjusted her semi-rimmed glasses to get a better look. In the tiny’s view was a pair of gargantuan dark-magenta eyes. A bit intimidating for sure, but nothing Rentaro’s never seen before, but as he nervously stared back at the girl, things became a little awkward. She was completely silent. It was almost as if the mere sight of him had left her completely shocked, and upon flashing a nervous smile towards her, that silence was soon accompanied by an intense blush.

With their free hand, they started to awkwardly twirl their short peach-colored hair. Soon the silence was broken by the sound of her clearing her throat, however, when she opened her mouth, no words had emerged and a cold sweat ran down their forehead. Even Rentaro could tell that she was scrambling to say something, but the reason why was still unknown to him. His best guess was that she was shy.

“Are you alright?” He asked, starting to worry about the timid girl. His words of concern came as quite the shock, and the shrill girl let out a small ‘eep!’ before almost fumbling Rentaro out of her hands. Rentaro clung tightly to her finger, his heart racing as he narrowly avoided plummeting to the ground. While it could have gone really bad, Rentaro was able to bounce back and find his way back onto stable footing in the palm of the girl’s hand. He was completely ok, the same couldn’t be said for the girl holding him though. Looking like they were about to break into tears, it looked like she was more scared about almost dropping Rentaro than he was when he was about to fall. Before he could ask if they were ok, the girl bowed her head, and for the first time since being in her grasp, Rentaro was able to hear her voice.

“I’m so so so so sorry!!!!” He was expecting an apology, but Rentaro was completely unprepared for the sheer volume of their voice. Wincing from how loud it was, he tried to reassure her that it was ok, but nothing seemed to shake the teary-eyed expression from her face. Nervously looking around, he had hoped that one of the girl’s friends would step in to reassure her, but given how she was acting towards him, he soon realized that she probably didn’t have any friends. Letting out one last nervous laugh, he cleared his throat and gently placed a hug against her trembling thumb. 

“Look, I get you’re sad that you almost dropped me, but I’m alright, see?” He said, smiling happily at her while proving he was okay. Her sorrowful expression began to fade, as a wave of relief washed over her. Seeing this as an opening to finally communicate with the shy girl, he took his chance and earnestly introduced himself. 

“I’m Rentaro! What’s your name?” Still staring shyly at him, a quivering smile appeared on their face as they took a deep breath.

“I-It’s Nozomi Ichika. Thank you for not being mad at me!!” She said bowing her head once more...