All the Heroines Who Showed Their Overwhelming Emotions on Me Have Mentally Broken Down and Gone Insane, so Now My Only Choice Is to Pamper Them Endlessly to Avoid Total Chaos — Sweets Work Best on Lovesick Heroines

Chapter 25: Wednesday, Aka Yami Ayakura Day

–––For once, I had a dream. And it was a really nostalgic one too.

The walk from the nearest station to high school.

In the rain, I was standing under my umbrella waiting for the light to change when I caught sight of a figure tilting toward the roadway in my peripheral vision. No umbrella, just kinda staggering out onto the busy street with cars zooming by.

Right then, a blaring car horn cut through everything.

“Hey! That’s dangerous!”

Without thinking I grabbed her arm and yanked her back onto the sidewalk. The momentum made her stumble forward and she ended up leaning her head right against my chest.

“What the heck are you doing…!”

Only then did I realize she was wearing the same school uniform as me. And at the same time, I realized who she was—the most famous person in the whole school.

“…It’s all empty inside me.”

“Huh?”

“There’s nothing in me. Just time spent acting, days spent living up to everyone’s expectations.”

The way she said it, her face looked completely hollow.

“I’m so tired. I just wanted to break completely…”

Back then I didn’t have the slightest clue about the pressure my senpai was carrying. I just figured being student council president probably came with a ton of worries and stress, that’s all.

But precisely because I didn’t know any better, I could say it so casually.

“If you’re tired, why don’t you just take a break?”

“…Excuse me?”

The look on her face right then was pure shock—like I’d started speaking some alien language.

“You’re our student council president, right? I don’t know exactly what’s bothering you, but if it’s bad enough that you feel like jumping in front of a car, wouldn’t skipping school for a bit actually be way healthier?”

“What are you even saying? Someone who’s supposed to be a role model can’t possibly…”

“I mean, at the end of the day we’re just students. It’s not like you’re the representative of the whole country. No one’s gonna die if you cut loose a little.”

“B-but… my family situation is kind of… special… I’m not supposed to ever show weakness…”

“Doesn’t matter what family you come from—you’re still a student. Which means you’re still a kid. If you slack off a bit, no one’s gonna complain.”

“Slack off… cut loose…”

“You’re gonna catch a cold standing out here in the rain anyway. C’mon, let’s go somewhere you can rest. I’m skipping school today too.”

Summer of my first year in high school. A rainy day.

That was how things started with Yami-senpai.

＊

The sound of rain hitting the window woke me up.

I glanced at the clock. Just before 7 a.m.

Even after something like that happened, everyday life just… keeps going.

“Haa…”

My body still felt heavy and sluggish. Of course guilt was clinging to me too.

There’s no way one night of sleep would let me forget what happened with Iori. Forget? Nah—if anything, her face keeps flashing in my head even right now.

Seriously… how the hell did I let myself give in to desire like that…

Goddammit… what an idiot I am…!

–––ding-dong.

The intercom cut through my self-hating thoughts.

I didn’t even need to check the monitor.

Today was Wednesday. So obviously I already knew who it was.

＊

I got ready and headed downstairs. When the automatic door at the entrance opened, there she was—Yami-senpai in her uniform, standing under the building’s overhang holding her school bag and an umbrella.

“Good morning, Aotori-kun.”

“Morning… huh?”

No car in sight. No sign of Anzu-san, her usual sidekick, either.

“You’re not coming by car today?”

“I sent Anzu home. From here we’re walking.”

“If you came by car wouldn’t it have been easier to just get dropped off at school…?”

It was pouring today too. Even though the distance was walkable now, it was still about ten minutes to school.

“No way. That wouldn’t let me enjoy a full day with you, Aotori-kun.”

She opened her umbrella and took one step closer.

“When lovers walk to school together, it’s gotta be sharing an umbrella, right?”

Here we go again with the weird stuff…

“We’re not dating, though.”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. Come on, get under here.”

“No, I’ve got my own umb—”

The second I started opening mine, she narrowed her eyes.

“You’re saying you won’t come under mine? I thought on my assigned day you’d do anything for me.”

“…Excuse me then.”

“Yes. My pleasure.”

I gave up and stepped under her umbrella. We started walking side by side toward school.

Our shoulders kept brushing. Mixed in with the smell of rain was her fresh, clean scent. Speaking of smells… Iori last night also smelled really nice, didn’t she…

…What the hell am I even thinking about right now. This is bad. Even in the middle of normal daily life, bits of Iori keep forcing their way into my head. She’s completely eating away at my thoughts.

“fufu”

Completely unaware of what was going on inside me, senpai seemed to be in a great mood.

“You’re in a good mood.”

“Of course I am. I’ve always dreamed of sharing an umbrella with you again, Aotori-kun.”

She said it with this faraway look in her eyes.

“Being like this… it really reminds me of that day.”

“What day?”

“You don’t have to play dumb. The day you saved me.”

We hit a red light and stopped.

She continued in this almost reverent tone.

“Eating fast food for the first time, playing at the arcade, almost getting caught by the police and running away… every single one of those things happened for the first time that day. You were my first.”

Back then I just saw the noble student council president getting soaked in the rain and thought a little break might do her good, so I stuck my nose in with some small kindness. There was no deeper motive, and I definitely wasn’t thinking anything dramatic like “I’m gonna change her life.”

Who would’ve thought it would turn into this heavy obsession.

“I seriously just meant it as a tiny bit of help.”

“Even so, you saved me. Enough that the whole world started looking colorful again.”

“That’s kinda poetic.”

“That’s why I have to have you, Aotori-kun. No matter what.”

“Okay that jumped straight to creepy real fast…”

Staring down at the wet pavement, she gave this self-mocking little laugh.

“I tried so hard, pushed myself so much to live up to my mother’s expectations, to never tarnish the Ayakura family name, to always stay perfect—and now here I am, repeating a year? Hilarious, right!”

Her voice was bright and clear. Like she was laughing off the fact that she once wanted to die.

“I didn’t exactly tell you to skip so much you end up repeating a year…”

“Well, it still happened because of you, Aotori-kun. So you’re taking responsibility for destroying every part of me—for the rest of your life.”

Man… that’s heavy.

I’m already wrecked from the whole Iori thing—can I please not get hit with more of this? My mental capacity was about to collapse.

The light turned green. We crossed the street and she kept talking without even pausing.

“So hey, Aotori-kun… how about we skip school a little today?”

“Huh?”

What is she even saying. We’re literally in uniform, bags on our backs, on the way to school right now.

But she didn’t give me a single second to interrupt. She stepped in front of me and flashed this devilishly enchanting smile—like refusing her would be a crime.

“It’s a request from your assigned-day partner. Let’s recreate that day starting right now.”

―――――――――――――――――

【Raimu Tendo】
Dependency: ★★★★★
Danger: ★★☆☆☆
Menhera: ★★★☆☆

【Yami Ayakura】
Dependency: ★★★★☆
Danger: ★★★★☆
Menhera: ★★★★☆

【Iori Ototsuka】
Dependency: ★★★★★
Danger: ★★★★★
Menhera: ★★★★★

【Kokoa Aotori】
Dependency: ★★★★★
Danger: ★★★★☆
Menhera: ★★★★★