The Borrower Kaorin

The Story

A Borrower named Kaori lived in a Japanese high school. Being a Borrower of her age, she stood four inches tall. She had a friend named Chihiro who was another Borrower. Chihiro called her "Kaorin".

Although Borrowers were supposed to keep themselves a complete secret from humanity, Kaorin had a crush on a human girl named Sakaki. Among humans, Sakaki was tall for her age and still growing. Like most of Sakaki's classmates, Kaorin thought she was aloof and cool, but rather than let her size intimidate her, that attracted Kaorin to her.

"Kaorin, you know we'd be killed if human beans discovered us!" Chihiro said.

"But... Miss Sakaki is so cool!"

"Don't you remember what your mother said happened to your father? He disappeared over seven years ago because a human bean saw him! No Borrower has seen him ever since! He has to be dead by now!"

"I know, but... something seems different about Sakaki."

"Your mother would say that many Borrowers died because they thought beans would be safe to talk to!"

Chihiro was more of a family friend of Kaorin and her mother, but despite her words, Kaorin already had a plan to talk to Sakaki.

She got some borrowing gear, made the journey to the room that a teacher named Yukari had as her homeroom, found Sakaki's backpack with no one around, and climbed into it.

It was a bumpy ride, but when Sakaki opened it, she locked eyes with Kaorin. The Borrower looked around what she could see from inside of the backpack. There were a lot of cat plushies and posters in the room. Sakaki said, "Um... why are you so small?"

Kaorin's heart was pounding, though she wasn't sure if it was fear for her life or due to love. Noticing Sakaki look away as if she was shy, Kaorin replied, "I'm... a Borrower! We're all this size! And I'm Kaorin!"

"What are you doing in my backpack...?" Sakaki asked, scooping her up out of it.

In the palm of Sakaki's hand, Kaorin said, "I... I love you, Miss Sakaki!"

Sakaki was surprised that Kaorin knew her name and took a second to realize that it was a love confession. Sakaki said, "I'm sorry, Kaorin, but... I'm not into dating girls. I once had a boyfriend whose main interest in me was for my appearance. After he dumped me, I... now wish I was cuter. ... Also, how do you know my name?"

Kaorin's heart broke and she started crying. Sakaki said, "Again... how do you know who I am?"

Kaorin didn't answer, continuing to sob. Sakaki said, "Did you come from school?"

After Kaorin stopped crying, she said, "I lived in the school,"

"In the walls?"

"How did you know?" Kaorin said, on the verge of tears once more.

"Wouldn't we have seen you Borrowers if you didn't hide yourself?"

"I suppose. So I revealed myself to you for nothing! And you have a cat, don't you? You're gonna feed me to it, aren't you?"

"... No, I don't have a cat. I wish I could, but... my mother is allergic to them and the cats I've met don't like me for some reason,"

"What cats have you met?"

"A gray stray cat that keeps biting my hand whenever I try to pet him is the most common. He once ruined my photography attempts by moving so fast he was a blur in the photos. He also once headbutted me in my stomach,"

"Does he know where you live?"

"I doubt it..."

"What do I have to live for? You rejected me,"

"If you're thinking about jumping to your death, please don't! I may have just met you, but I still don't want to see you die! ... Maybe I'll take you back to school?"

That was what Sakaki ended up doing, making sure none of her human friends noticed Kaorin. When the Borrower was back in the walls, she found Chihiro and was going to say something, but she seemed elated that Kaorin was alive. Chihiro said, "Kaorin! Where were you? I thought you were either kidnapped or dead!"

"I went into Miss Sakaki's backpack and let her take me home with her, but when she noticed me, she... rejected me!"

Kaorin wanted to cry again, but Chihiro said, "You can move on from this and continue to live your life."