Harem of Side Characters [Rewrite]

Kokoro Inogashira - Stuffed Animal

After school I find myself returning to class, as I left my bag and my phone there. Entering, I see Inogashira sitting at her desk, looking at something underneath her desk. I can't see it due to the angle, but judging by the numerous number of needles and yarn on the table, it must be something she knitted.

"Hi, Inogashira." I greet as I walk over to my desk. Hearing me speak, the girl jumps in surprise.

"O-oh! Uhh...hi...How are you doing, Ayanokouji?" Inogashira stutters as she attempts to hide what she made behind her back.

"I'm...good. Did I surprise you?"

"Y-yes! I-I didn't see you come in! T-that's all!"

"...Is something the matter? You're acting a bit strange." I question her.

"No, no! E-everything is completely fine!" That is a sign that everything is not fine.

"Does it have something to do with what you're hiding behind your back?" I take a guess. Her face turns a deep shade of red.

"I-I'm not hiding anything behind my back!" She doubles her efforts to keep whatever she is holding out of my sight.

"What is it?"

"Nothing!" I was kind of confused why she was so embarrassed. If my guess is right and its something she knitted, she shouldn't be ashamed of it.

"Isn't it something you knitted? The supplies are still all over your desk."

"N-no!" She uses one arm to collect all of her supplies as quickly as possible, accidentally knocking over a few needles to the ground.

"...Is it really that embarrassing?"

"...It is...T-to be honest it's...not something I wanted to show you yet...I thought I needed a few more days to gather enough confidence and..." She stutters out in quick succession.

"Inogashira."

"Okay! Maybe more than a few days... but I would be more open to showing you...Probably..."

"Inogashira, calm down."

"Aaah! Okay, I'll show you! But... I should explain first." She takes a deep breath before continuing.

"Y-you probably already know this...but I really like knitting. I've made a lot of things... like clothes...dolls... and other things like that. B-but I've never given my creations to someone as a gift..."

"Did you finally summon the courage to share your work?"

"Uh...m-maybe not to most people, but... I thought it would be nice if I could... give something to you, since... you've already helped me a lot...and I thought it would be easier because it's you, but now I'm afraid you won't like it and won't want to talk to me anymore..." Her lack of self-esteem is a bit worrying.

"If it's something you personally made, I wouldn't do something like that."

"A-are you sure...? I wanted to tweak it a bit...and you probably won't like it anyway...it's a bit childish..."

"It doesn't matter if it's childish. Even if it's something I have no use for, it's something you made for me. I would be happy to see it either way." Inogashira bites her lip.

"...Even if it's bad?"

"Even if it's bad."

"Even if... you got it from me?"

"...What do you mean by that?" She averts her eyes, and stares at the floor.

"...I-I'm sure there are a lot more people that you would prefer a gift from...I'm just...plain...boring...There's nothing special about me...I'm not very pretty..."