Harem of Side Characters [Rewrite]

Chihiro Shiranami - Emotions

Just after school ends, I walk to the grocery store to buy some food. Don't get me wrong, the restaurants around Keyaki Mall are delicious, and I would eat them every day if I could. However with the amount of points I have, its better for me to save money. Entering the store I see a group of students I recognize.

"...Aha! Perfect timing!" Andou immediately calls out when she notices me.

"Hmm? Oh, you're that guy from the pool." Another girl looks up from her phone, I believe her name was Minamikata. Another girl was with them, one I didn't recognize as a swimming club member or a volleyball club member.

"Is something wrong?" I ask as I approach.

"Weeeell, the three of us were grabbing supplies for a party...and we're kind of having trouble bringing them back to the dorms." A party? That would be very expensive to prepare. Oh wait, they're class B. They can actually afford to spend points freely.

...I'm not jealous, you're jealous.

"...I'm not opposed to helping, but there are three of you. I don't see how you're having trouble. In addition, I know for a fact that two of you are athletic, and would have no problem carrying these. You still haven't introduced your friends by the way." I say gesturing over to the other girls.

"Ah! How could I forget! Ahem...you've met her before, but this girl is Kozue Minamikata!" She pats Minamikata's shoulder.

"Yo. Just call me Minamikata." The girl lazily answers me with a small wave.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kiyotaka Ayanokoji." I retaliate with my own small wave.

"...and this girl here is Chihiro Shiranami! She's a bit of a quiet one like you." Andou pats Shiranami's shoulder as well, though the girl looks is significantly more uncomfortable than before.

"H-hi..." She shyly greets me.

"Nice to meet you as well."

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, the reason we need your help is because I have a sudden club meeting. Its pretty important so I have to attend." Andou explains.

"Same." Minamikata pipes in as well.

"And we can't have Chihiro here carry all of it by herself. So that's where you come in!"

"I see. Well, I'll help." If I didn't and Shiranami chose to carry these by herself, I'm sure her arms would fall out of their sockets. That's not something I want to be indirectly responsible for.

"Great! Thank you in advanced, now I've got to go!" She barely finishes the sentence before she's off sprinting towards the gym.

"Yeah, thanks. We owe you one." Minamikata also leaves, albeit at a much slower and more normal pace. That just leaves me and Shiranami. Well, this is pretty akward.

-----

"T-thank you again for assisting me..." Shiranami says as we walk back to the dorms. I have around four bags of groceries in my arms filled to the brim with snacks and drinks.

"It's nothing. I'm happy to help."

"I-I'm sorry you have to make up for my lack of t-tube-strength."

"...Tube-strength?"

"...I-I'm sorry! I just w-wanted to try and make a joke." She quickly covers her face in shame.

"You should really stop apologizing so much. Was there a reason you wanted to tell me a joke?" I question her.

"Y-you just don't seem to be having a g-good time...you haven't even smiled once..."

"Again, I would like to remind you that I'm helping because I want to. As for the smile, I just don't express myself a lot. I always look like this, so don't blame yourself."

"D-do you not feel?" Hey, that just makes me seem like an emotionless robot. I take offense to that.

"Nothing like that. I definitely feel, but not as much as others, I guess?" I am still able to feel things like greed, and of course the most important feeling, lust.

"Then... you don't express yourself?"

"That's a way to put it yes. I know emotions like happiness and sadness, I just choose not to react to them."

"Do you not want anyone to understand you when you're sad?" She has a slightly concerned look on her face. Well I suppose its not often you find someone with a perfect poker face like me, so I can understand where she is coming from.

"Are you worried about me? You really don't have to, I'm fine." She doesn't look convinced. I think I should shift the topic to her before she feels even more bad about me.

"...Is there a reason why you're talking about understanding someone's sadness? This isn't a particularly normal thing to talk about." She flinched hard at my accusation. Looks like I hit the mark.

"If you don't want to talk about it, its fine. I understand completely. Just know that I'm all ears. Since you're friends with Andou and I'm her friend, you're technically my friend as well. Though if you didn't tell Andou about your problem, I don't see why you would tell me." I didn't want to push her that far yet.

"...I can't tell her, or any class B student..." She mumbles.

"And you don't have to. Just make sure you won't regret it once you make your choice." We both fall into a small silence after that. She fidgets a bit, but seems to have made up her mind as she turns to me.

"...Can I ask you a question." I was slightly confused, but nodded.

"...Do you think there are things in this world that are not worth fixing?" This was a much deeper question than I expected.

"Do you mean things that are already broken or...?"

"Or things that are about to break." She nervously puts a hand over her heart. I'm a bit stunned by the complexity of her simple question.

It was clear she didn't mean something materialistic.

"...You don't have to answer that." Shiranami's voice shook me out of my thoughts. She gives me a small smile and sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.

"Sorry, I guess I ranted a bit too much..."

"Haven't I told you to stop apologizing so much?"

"Hehe, I guess you did..." I duly note that we reached the dorms already. We get in the elevator and go to her room. I notice that the room has a slight smell of citrus in it. The scent of perfume, perhaps?

"Thank you again for helping..." Shiranami gives me a bow as I put the bags down.

"You're welcome. I'll see you around, I suppose." I turn to leave.

"Ayanokoji." I stop, and turn my head slightly to look at her.

"If one day...I showed up in front of your dorm crying..." She starts, but doesn't finish. She quickly shakes her head, and instead gives me a sweet smile.

"Nevermind. I hope to see you again." I hesitate for a moment, before exiting her room.