Harem of Side Characters [Rewrite]

Shiho Manabe - Laplace's Demon

I woke up with a slight headache.

Onodera and Mori are asleep in the other beds in the room, and as I look down at the bed closest to me, I see the sleeping face of Ruri. She clutches one of my hands against her cheek rather affectionately.

I find myself staring for a bit too long, before I turn to look at the time. It's about 7 am, so it's still relatively early in the morning. Checking my phone, I find some messages from Hirata. Ah, I forgot to tell him that I wouldn't be coming back to our shared room for the night.

"...Mmm..." Ruri stirs a bit as she wakes up.

"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you?"

"...Kind of, but it's fine."

"Do you feel a bit better?" I ask her.

"...Yeah, I think so. I think I can manage for a few days."

"You really need to do something about that sleep schedule."

"Hehe, yes. I suppose I do. I didn't really have a choice though." Ruri mumbles. I give her head a little rub in support.

"Don't worry about it, whenever you have those nightmares again, you can call me. I'll head right over."

"...Thank you, Kiyotaka. I really appreciate it." Unlike her usual flirty smirk, this time her smile is genuine. Her words are also much softer, and there isn't an underlying motive underneath.

"Think nothing of it. It's the right thing to do. Well, I'll need to head out to prepare for the day." I say as I get up.

"Oh...of course. Yes, that's fine." She seems a bit dissapointed, but she lets go of me. Looking at her, I almost don't want to leave.

"...I'll see you around, Ruri." I say as I leave the room.

...

...

"...Goodbye, Kiyotaka. I love you."

—————

After the zodiac meeting, I find myself standing in front of the Manabe troupe's room. However, I know that currently only Manabe is in the room, as I saw Saki dragging Yabu towards what I assume to the meeting room Morofuji is in. Why Manabe didn't come with them, I don't know. But I won't pass up such a great opportunity.

"Manabe, let me in. Time is of the essence." I knock on the door.

"Huh? The fuck are you on about? Get the hell out of here." The fact that she doesn't seem all that surprised that I have shown up is a testament to how deep our everlasting friendship goes.

"You know I'm not going to do that. Just open the door."

"No! Fuck off!" I hear something whack against the door and fall to the ground. Most likely she threw a pillow at the door, or perhaps a couch cushion.

"I've accepted a quest from a certain chuunibyou girl, and in order to complete it I must converse with you at length."

"Oh my fucking god."

A moment of silence.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"JESUS, OKAY! HOLD ON A FUCKING SECOND, WOULD YOU?" I hear a bit of rustling as she supposedly gets off her bed and opens the door.

"What!?" She glares at me like usual. One of these days, this girl will greet me with a cute smile.

"I have received a quest from a certain chuuniby-"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first fucking time! And what the hell makes you think I want to sit down and chat with you?"

"Because we're best friends and we like each other?"