Harem of Side Characters [Rewrite]

Ruri Ichihashi - Warm Welcome

I knock on a door and wait for someone to answer. I was walking around the cruise trying to familiarize myself with it before stumbling upon the girl's rooms, and I thought I might as well say hello to the people I know.

"Who's there?" A girl's voice comes from the other side.

"Just me. I've been wandering around the ship and I found myself here by chance."

"Ah! It's a ghost wandering around the ship!"

"That's... obviously just Ayanokouji, Kayano."

"I'm opening the door." I recognize the voices of Onodera, Mori, and Ichihashi.

"It would be extremely impolite to not let Ayanokouji experience this wondrous gathering of beautiful girls. Quick, everyone, put your clothes back on." No, keep them off. I will join you soon.

"Ruri... please don't give Ayanokouji weird ideas." Mori exasperatedly sighs.

Ichihashi opens the door, and I see that everyone is in fact, fully clothed. Tch.

"Welcome to our room. Please keep your hands to yourself at all times. You may not touch the girls, but you may touch yourself as you gaze at them." Ichihashi says with some flair, as she waves me in the room.

"You may not."

"Please don't do that." Onodera and Mori immediately reject her idea.

"I wasn't planning on it... Are all of you roommates?"

"Oh no, this is Ruri, Sakura, Maezono, and Shinohara's room. The others are out right now. Me and Kayano are just here to help carry stuff because Ruri asked us for help. If you want to visit us though, we're rooming with Hasabe and Ishikura in the room just down the hall. Ishikura is the only one there right now, because Hasabe went away the second Ruri showed up." Mori shrugs.

"I don't think that girl likes me very much." Ichihashi says.

"Well what do you expect when the first words out of your mouth when you came in the room and saw her were "Wow! What a magnificent pair of walking boobs!"."

"I would consider that the highest form of praise." Ichihashi proudly declares. "After all, not all of us girls are blessed with such fantastic assets. Compared to her, I might as well be an A-cup."

"That's because you do have an A-cup, Ruri!"

"How rude! I would like to inform you that I'm a C-cup!"

...Can I just say that I am a bit proud that I'm at the point where girl's are freely talking about their breasts in front of me? That has to be a great achievement.

"I see. This room is quite...messy." I comment as I look around. The girls stop their argument and return their focus to me.

"Mostly Ruri's fault, she has like a thousand books that we had to help her bring up here." Onodera complains. "The other girls didn't have that many things!"

"It's funny how they say knowledge is power when it doesn't help you carry the objects containing said knowledge up stairs." Ichihashi doesn't even look the slightest bit apologetic.

"You know, I wouldn't be opposed to helping. You could just call me or something." I offer. Specifically to get the girls' phone numbers, for research purposes.

"My, my. How forward of you! I will gladly provide you with my number, Ayanokoji." Ichihashi just smiles before inputting her number into my phone. Onodera and Mori follow suit, with the former also inputting Inogashira's phone number.

"You know, Ruri already predicted that you would come here." Mori comments as she hands my phone back to me.

"Is that so?"

"Of course. My body has been quaking with anticipation since our fated meeting in the janitor's closet." Ichihashi replies while dramatically putting her hand over her heart.

"The meeting that...never happened." Onodera adds.

"My latest short story begs to differ."

"You... write stories, Ichihashi?" I ask. I knew she was a bookworm, and it seems she is an author on top of that. Quite impressive... Hold on... she wrote a story about me and her in a janitor's closet?

"Yeah, and she forces us to read them! My poor eyes have been tainted..." Onodera covers her eyes with her hands.

"...I couldn't even make it past the first page..." Mori bashfully says.

"Of course I write stories. Sometimes, when inspiration strikes, you have to drop everything and start writing. In fact, the reason I was looking forward to your arrival is because I think it might be useful in getting inspiration. Someone like you who is perfectly apathetic towards everything is perfect for me. Now what shall we do today, Kiyotaka? I'll make a whole series about our escapades." Ichihashi closes her eyes in anticipation. Onodera is behind her, forming an X with her hands while mouthing the word 'No' to tell me not to do anything.

"I beg of you, don't give her any ideas. The more inspiration she has... the scarier her stories get." Mori straight up says.

"Fear is just a mental barrier. Who are we, to let fear dissuade us from experiencing the path we want to walk on? I say we should embrace the fear and all the experiences that come with it." Ichihashi smoothly replies.

"Not everyone feels the same way about those inappropriate situations, psycho!" Onodera yells.

"...I'm a bit curious on what exactly she writes." I mumble.

"I can send you some of her more tame works if you want. She's actually an amazing writer, as long as she's not talking about closets." Mori pipes up.

"Ah... it seems no one is on the same wavelength as me. How unfortunate." Ichihashi shakes her head in dissapointment, before facing me and continuing.

"Anyway, while you are here, you may make use of this room as if it were your own home. You may sleep in our beds, dress in our clothes..."

"You may not do any of that. Don't make decisions for the other girls, I don't think they'd appreciate it!" Onodera quickly interrupts.

"Don't mind her. She just hasn't felt the touch of a man before."

"Neither have you!"

I take a few moments to analyze the room. It's obvious that the room is divided into multiple sections, one for each person. I look at Ichihashi's side of the room to see...

"...I see now that Onodera saying Ichihashi has a thousand books is not an exaggeration..." I mutter. I saw a few books on the floor when I came in, but now I realize that there are way more than I initially thought. You could probably build a wall with the amount of books here.

"It's not, but there is a reason for them. When you look at them, what do you see, Ayanokoji?" Ichihashi walks closer to the books, and I do the same.

"...I see a lot of books."

"Stories, Ayanokouji. Fictitious stories, each hiding something begging to be conveyed. Inside each story, there exists characters, each with their own quirks and characteristics. You see, when I read books, I always try to understand the motivations of the characters, even those that most people just forget. I like changing my way of thinking, and immersing myself in them." Ichihashi faces me.

"In the same way, I like to try and understand people. So, isn't this the ideal time for me to learn about you? A young girl, and a handsome boy alone in a room..."

"We're still here, you know..."

"Yeah, we can hear and see you...You only walked like five steps away..." Onodera and Mori comment.

"Shh, it is me and Ayanokouji's time. Why don't you tell me what you want, Ayanokoji?"

"...I would rather not...especially with an audience..."

"Party poopers, the lot of you. I suppose we can continue this talk another time, with more privacy. Would you like to join us for some lunch?" Ichihashi asks.

"Not today, but I'm grateful for the offer. I really only came here to say hi." I say.

"A shame." The girls say their goodbyes as I leave the room.