Harem of Side Characters [Rewrite]

Ryoko Nishikawa - Delirium

"Nishikawa?" I ask as I knock on the door to her dorm after school. I wait a while, but no reply comes. I reach for the doorknob, and surprisingly I found it unlocked.

"Nishikawa, I'm going to come in if you don't answer me." I wait. No reply. Maybe she's not even in the dorm? Well, here goes nothing I suppose.

"I'm opening the door..." I say one last time, before turning the knob and entering.

The first thing I notice, is the darkness. All of the lights have been turned off, and the window blinds were closed. I thought this meant she wasn't here, but unmistakably there were her shoes on the ground near the door. The second thing I notice, was the frigid air. The room was freezing, a stark contrast to the hot summer air outside. I walk deeper into the room, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness.

Nishikawa sits alone on her bed, staring into space. She doesn't even acknowledge the fact that I just entered her room.

Closing the door behind me, I quietly approach the girl.

"Nishikawa?"

"..." No reply again. She is completely unaware of everything happening around her. I'm not sure if I should approach her any more than this.

"Hey, are you okay? Yamamura is worried, and I'm getting worried too."

"..." It doesn't seem to work. She still hasn't moved even the slightest bit. I walk even closer.

"Nishikawa? Hello?" I'm close enough to see her face even in the darkness. She doesn't look any better from yesterday, in fact it might even be worse. Her eyes are more swollen than before, to the point where she can't open her eyes fully. I duly note that the air conditioner is turned on full blast, so at least she isn't sweating.

"Hey, talk to me. What's going on? I came all the way here, aren't you going to at least say hi?"

"..."

"Do you... want something to eat? I'll buy it for you, my treat."

"..."

I'm horrible at this. I first need to make her aware of my presence. The best way to do that, is through physical contact. I slowly reach over and touch her arm.

"Hey..."

"...Huh...?" Her eyes finally shift upwards, and I can see her slowly focusing on me. I finally got a reaction.

"...Ayanokouji...?" Her voice was coarse and weak.

"That's right. It's me. You really shouldn't be alone right now, so I'm here."

"...Alone...?... But... I'm not alone...you're here..." It looks like she can barely focus in her current state.

"Do you want to talk?"

"...Talk...?... About what...?...Did we... have plans to hang out...?...Sorry... I don't feel good... We can hang out some other day..."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm worried about you."

"...Worried...?...Why...I'm not doing anything...I'm just sitting here..."

"I know, and I'm going to sit here with you."

"That's a bit... rude... I'm not wearing any pants right now... If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were...here to take advantage of me..." I noticed that she was only wearing an oversized shirt, but that is currently the least of my problems.

"I'm not going to do anything like that." I wouldn't even joke about doing something like that to her in the state she's in. Even saying the wrong thing to her now could cause her to shut down completely.