The Fate of the Protagonist Who Chose the Harem Ending - Episode 13

Closing the Distance  

The overcast autumn sky that had lingered for days finally turned into rain.  

I found myself in trouble without an umbrella.  

Should I head home while getting wet, or wait for the rain to ease even if it meant staying late?  

As I pondered, Shizuku approached me.  

“What’s wrong, Haru?”  

“Well, I forgot my umbrella.”  

“Ah… Hey, Haru.”  

Shizuku, her face slightly red, opened her umbrella and gestured with her hand. She invited me to come under it.  

“Come in. I don’t want you to get wet.”  

“…Alright, I’ll take you up on your offer. I’ll hold the umbrella.”  

With that, I stepped into the umbrella where Shizuku was waiting.  

—

The sound of the rain,  

the drops bouncing off the umbrella,  

the cars splashing through puddles—  

listening to all these sounds, Shizuku and I walked home together under the same umbrella.  

I tilted the umbrella toward Shizuku to keep her from getting wet.  

Walking on the roadside, I shielded her from the splashing water.  

After all, I was the one being let in.  

Getting my shoulder or pants a little wet was nothing compared to being soaked.  

“Haru, your shoulder’s getting wet.”  

“It’s fine. I’m the one being let in.”  

“I don’t want you to get wet. Come closer. It’s okay if it’s you.”  

With that, Shizuku moved closer. She was pressing herself against me.  

“Shizuku, uh, this… you’re really close…”  

My arm was brushing against her chest.  

I hesitated to put it into words, but it seemed Shizuku was well aware of it.  

“It’s okay if it’s you, Haru. Besides, the rain made it a little chilly, and I’m cold.”  

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, but she didn’t stop clinging to my arm.  

“Haru, you’re really kind, you know?”  

“Kind? What do you mean?”  

“Don’t play dumb. You tilted the umbrella toward me, walked on the roadside… Little things like that make me feel safe, like you’re protecting me.”  

“You’re important to me, so it’s only natural.”  

“Important because I’m your childhood friend?”  

“…Honestly, I’m not sure if ‘childhood friend’ is the right word. It feels like it’s more than that.” 

“…I’d like it to be more than that.”  

With those words, Shizuku stopped holding onto my arm and pressed her whole body against mine.  

Now I could feel her warmth and softness with my entire body.  

“Ah, hey—”  

“So cold, so cold!”  

I tried to say something, but she cut me off. It was as if to stop me from speaking.  

It felt like she was silently telling me, “I’m not letting go.”  

I didn’t want to risk her losing balance and falling if I resisted. So I let her stay close.  

*I don’t want to let Ichijo have her.* 

This feeling, which had started as a small bud, was growing rapidly.  

But at times, I became overly conscious of it. I was afraid of hurting Shizuku.  

That fear had made me think about telling her to step away.  

But Shizuku said it was okay. She told me it was okay.  

She came closer to me of her own accord.  

If I didn’t have to resist anymore,  

if it was okay to see her as more than a friend,  

then perhaps this feeling had already blossomed long ago.  

It had been blooming unnoticed while I was too preoccupied with other things.  

But it had persevered, continuing to bloom quietly, until now, when it finally came into full view.  

I realized:  

I don’t see her as just a childhood friend.  

I love her as a woman.  

(Note: For this chapter, I’m experimenting on the format of the paragraph a little bit. I wonder if it’s better this way or just giving each lines line breaks as usual.)