My Friend the Harem Protagonist

Chapter 32: The Inciting Incident

Being a first year was rough. When I'd first entered high school my expectations were pretty low. My middle school years had been uneventful, and I figured high school would just be a few more years of the same. Now for some reason I always felt exhausted by the end of the day.

Classes were over and I was heading toward the arcade. I waved goodbye to Haru, who sat next to me during home room. He seemed like a nice guy, but he was always looking over his shoulder. Still, he was my first new friend since I'd started high school.

Up ahead I saw a girl stapling posters to a telephone pole. Her hair was tied into a long braid. As I got closer she noticed me approaching. She was holding the poster in place with her hand, but she was looking at me so she didn't notice that she was lining up the stapler with her palm.

"Hey, be careful!" I yelled and rushed forward.

She jumped then noticed what she was doing with the stapler. I was close enough to realize it was Ayami, chairman and sole member of the disciplinary committee. Even as a first year she'd taken on such a huge responsibility, truly an inspiration.

"Thank you Shin, that was a close one." She had always been a little stiff around me. I thought it might be because she didn't approve of my hair, but she hadn't brought it up yet.

"No problem, what are the fliers for?" I asked.

"Sports festival is coming up. I'm supposed to get a buzz going."

"Do you want help?" I'd only known Ayami for a couple of weeks but she was hard working, and maybe a bit cute. Not that it would ever lead anywhere. I was too boring for that kind of thing.

"If you want, then sure." She handed me half the stack. Her breathing was starting to get heavy, but it was kind of hot out. I told her I'd take the stack down the street and get the other side of town.

"Wait!" she said.

I turned back to look at her, but she just straightened her posture and looked toward the ground. "Nothing, thanks for your help."

I was a little disappointed I wasn't going to the arcade, but it wasn't a huge loss. I liked getting near the center of town by the station. Along I went, stapling the posters to all the telephone poles.

Around me the houses began to turn into shops. The windows were filled with pastries, or television sets. I stopped in front of one of the TVs because I recognized who was on it. It was Karin, the school's judo ace. I'd talked with her once before, which was pretty rare. She'd become something of a school legend, and she was still only in her second year. On screen she was giving an interview for her upcoming match. None of her answers were very long, but she didn't come off as rude either.

As I stared at the screen I noticed two girls pass me on the street. One had completely blond hair and a skirt down to her ankles. I recognized the uniform from my school. Next to her was a shorter girl in a middle school uniform.

The older girl walked a little ahead while the younger girl struggled to keep up. The older was giving her some kind of advice, and looked pretty into it. "Now when you shake someone down, you always make sure you can run away at a moment's notice. Have a plan if things go south."

"What do I do if they know martial arts?"

"Then you might take a few hits. That's why it's just as important to size a person up before you make a move."

They disappeared around a corner, and I suppressed a shiver. Normally delinquents were just loud or slept in class. I'd never met one so dedicated.

Three blocks later and I was out of posters. The sun was beginning to crest the trees off in the distance. Soft orange light stretched between the buildings, and I began to feel sleepy. I yawned and decided to head home.