Harem of Side Characters [Rewrite]

Kokoro Inogashira - Blissful Night

I wander around the cruise at night. Eventually, I find myself near the front of the ship, looking at the waves. It also seems that someone else had the same idea. Inogashira sits on a bench, staring at the roaring waves. The scene reminds me of one of our previous encounters, where she was doing something similar.

I approach and sit down next to her. She looks at me for a moment, before returning her gaze to the ocean. She drags her knees towards her chest, and shivers a bit as a gust of the cold night sky comes to greet us. A minute or two pass without us speaking... but this is fine. I expected this.

"...Sorry..." She eventually mumbles. Even after everything that happened, she still considers it her fault.

"What are you apologizing for? You had a completely sensible reaction to someone insulting something you worked really hard on." I state. The only thing she did was run away. While that might not be the best option, it was completely understandable. Especially for someone as meek as Inogashira.

"...I dragged you down with me. Karuizawa and Nene will probably remember that situtation. They might start to spread rumors, causing more problems for you. So I'm apologizing... because all of that is my fault."

"Mori wouldn't do something like that. Even if rumors did spread, I don't really care. It's not a big problem."

"...It sounds like a big problem to me."

"I'm more worried about you. No one really thinks highly of me anyway, so my reputation won't really be affected." I try to shrug off her worries.

"I think highly of you... It's not a problem for me because I only talk with a few people. Everyone would probably look at me and say 'Oh, I forgot she was in the class'. If we didn't meet that one day at the cafe, you would probably also forget about me." She hugs her knees tighter.

"You don't need to be remembered by everyone, and I'm sure some people would remember you. At the very least, I wouldn't just forget about you. I mean, I spent a few days trying to get you to talk to me after all. If you were a nobody to me, I wouldn't have tried so hard to prevent you from taking what Karuizawa said to heart, because what she said is completely wrong."

"It's not completely wrong... If that's the impression she got when she saw my work, that's the impression other people will get as well... I should have practiced more so it could be better..." Her voice shook, because she was holding back tears.

"Who cares about what other people think? You made it for me, and I like it."

"...I'll make you a new one... with better materials and..."

"I don't want a new one. The one I have is perfect as is."

"...You're just saying that to make me feel better..."

"I can prove that I'm not." Inogashira curiously peeks at me as I reach over to take something out of my bag.

"...T-that's..." I show her the lion she painstakingly made. I made sure it was kept in mint condition, not a speck of dust or dirt was on it. I placed it on the bench in between us.

"...You brought it...?"

"Of course I did. I won't let your work go to waste." Inogashira looks at me for a while, the moonlight giving her a gentle glow.

"...Um...can I... hold your hand?" She shyly asks.

"Sure."

"A-ah! W-what am I s-saying!? I-I know it must be weird! I d-don't know what came over me, I must have blurted out something stu-" I stop her incessant rambling by enveloping her hand with my own.

"Is this okay?" I ask her.

"...Yeah..." Inogashira glances at our hands for a moment, as a cute smile forms on her face.

"...Hehe, your hands are surprisingly soft." She says with a giggle.

"Meanwhile your hands have knitting calluses everywhere."

"H-hey! I'm self conscious about that..." She gives me a small pout.

"Does that mean I should let go?"

"No!" She immediately blurts out, before turning red and covering her face from my sight.

"...I've just never held hands with a boy before... I like it..." She mumbles.

"...You're so adorable."

"Hm?... Did you say something, Ayanokouji?"

"No, nothing." We sit in silence, holding hands and staring out at the ocean.

"...Hey, Ayanokouji..."

"Hm?"

"...I'm glad you never gave up on me even when I pushed you away. It makes me feel a lot better... I will have to warn you though, I run away from my problems a lot. If I do...I hope you won't abandon me."

"Sounds like a lot of work."

"Hehe, would you like a reward for it then?"

"I already got a stuffed animal from you."

"Would you like a second stuffed animal?"

"I'd prefer to have you instead."

"You'd...W-wha!" And Inogashira once again turns into a stuttering mess, unable to form proper words. Absolutely adorable.

"I'm just messing around." I say in order to snap her back to reality.

"I...I know...it's just..." She takes a deep breath before looking me in the eye with some conviction.

"I like you, Ayanokouji... I like you a lot... My heart is beating very fast, and it's keeping me warm even though it's very cold out here at night..."

"I see..."

"You don't have to say anything. You might not want to get into a relationship... and I don't know if I want to get into one either. I'm not ready for one yet... I think." She closes her eyes for a moment.

"I just...wanted you to know." She finally says.

"...Inogashira."

"...H-huh!? Y-yes?"

"Can I call you Kokoro?" While she wasn't ready to be in a relationship yet, this was a start.

"...O-of course you can... K-Kiyotaka." Her face was completely red, but it was undoubtedly happy.

The two of us eventually head back to our respective rooms. As I lay on the bed, my thoughts return to the brown-haired, violet eyed girl. The shyest girl... ended up being the first person to confess to me.