My Friend the Harem Protagonist

Chapter 20: Drowning In Love

I'd been up in the tree for about an hour. After a lot of arguing Juri would be playing offense while I stayed and defended Shin. I would have preferred having her here with me. She could have been good backup, and we could have necked while we waited for Aya to show up.

No point worrying now because Aya had just arrived at Shin's front door. He answered a little too fast, almost as if he'd been standing right behind it. He was such a puppy.

Aya laughed it off and they started down the road toward Aya's house. From what he'd told me, she asked to meet him at his house so that they could walk to her house together. Something about needing time to herself after midterms.

They started down the road, arm in arm. I climbed down from my tree and began to follow them. I made out snippets of their conversation. Aya was running Shin through the different topics her parents were and weren't open to talking to. It seemed like a lot of trouble. Whenever I had to talk with Juri's dad I just brought up an old battle and let him go off.

Ayami found me before I found her. As Shin and Aya turned a corner she came up behind me and twisted a rope around my torso, pinning my arms to my side. My ultimate fallback was to call for Shin. Neither girl wanted to be seen looking like a psycho so hopefully they'd back off. But calling Shin now meant ruining his whole evening, so I'd only use it as a last resort.

I fumbled for the canister on my belt and managed to pull it loose, then I dropped to one knee and got my shoulder free. Now that my arm could move I pointed the deodorant can toward Ayami and let her have it. She coughed and loosened her grip enough for me to slip away. I glanced over at Shin but he hadn't heard us. Him and Aya were still walking down the road, unaware that I was fighting for my life.

My weapons were simple but effective. In my left hand was a spray can of deodorant. In my right was a flashlight. Juri had gone with the bat despite my protests, but I was determined to keep it nonlethal.

Just as Ayami seemed to be getting her bearings I flicked the light on a few inches from her eyes. She clutched at her face and stumbled backward. Shin and Aya were a few blocks away now. I reached out and gave Ayami a firm push on her shoulders. She toppled backward and landed on the grass. It wasn't much but it would slow her down for a while.

I turned and ran toward Shin and Aya. I'd found Ayami but Karin was still out there somewhere. Just as the thought was entering my mind I felt my feet leave the ground. Strong hands lifted me up and slammed me down onto my back. I let out a soft "oof!" as the air was pushed out of my lungs.

I gasped for breath as Karin stared back down at me. "I should bash your head in, but Shin likes you for some reason. Stay down and you won't get hurt."

Even without air I still had enough sense to turn my flashlight on. Karin cried out and stumbled backward while she shielded her eyes. I pulled myself to my feet and limped away as fast as I could. There wasn't much time until Karin and Ayami would be back on their feet. Aya lived around half an hour away from Shin's house by foot. I just had to hold out until they reached her house, then we'd be home free.

Ayami came running toward me, with her rope, looking very pissed off. She stopped and swung it out in a wide arc, trying to catch me in the middle. At the last second I dropped to the ground, but still felt the rope slap off the top of my head. It stung like crazy, but I could ignore it.

I rummaged through one of my pockets and pulled out a beanbag. My mom knew a lot about non lethal weapons from her job, so she was able to give me some pointers. I threw the beanbag and saw it connect with Ayami's stomach, payback for hitting me with that ice pack. She bent over from where it hit her.

Shin was pretty far away by now. I had to hustle to catch back up, all the while Ayami and Karin kept gaining on me. Ayami I could handle, but if Karin grabbed me now I'd be out of commission for the rest of the night, maybe even the week.

Behind me I could hear Karin and Ayami catching up.

"Is it just him or is Juri around too?" Karin asked.

Ayami coughed before she responded since there was probably still some deodorant in her. "I haven't seen her. She's either guarding the other side of the road or fighting shorty and the grudge."

If that was the case then Juri would have her work cut out for her, just like me. Between Karin and Masaki I wasn't sure who'd I'd rather be fighting. Karin was stronger, but Masaki would make it hurt. Hopefully Juri would figure something out, and hopefully she'd restrain herself with that bat. I'd hate to have to bail her out, and if I messed up here with Ayami and Karin I might not be able to.

Author's note: I've started working on the series again. Posting here has made me want to keep writing, so I picked up where it ended and started a whole new arc. It's a few chapters away from here though, so it may be awhile until it's released. Still, it's nice to be writing for the gang again. Thanks for reading!

-DieSleepHarpy