#26: Of Course, With My Childhood Friend Too

After sending Sakura Kida home, I returned to find Megucchi waiting for me.

“Sakura-senpai was here?”

“Yeah, I just got back from dropping her off. Did Kurumi tell you?”

“Uh-huh. Kurumi said, ‘That old geezer brought a beautiful senpai over.’ So what was she here for?”

“I reported on Kyouko’s situation. We also talked about what comes next.”

“Huh.”

Megucchi was texting on her phone while we talked, acting completely disinterested—but I could see right through that act. She’s dying to know but doesn’t want to show it. It was written all over her face.

I sat down on the bed like I had with Sakura and called Megucchi over.

“Come here, Megucchi.”

“Huh? I’m in the middle of a chat right now.”

“Just come on.”

When Megucchi reluctantly got up and sat beside me, I immediately pulled her close and kissed her forcefully.

She resisted at first with a “Mmm!?” but once I slipped my tongue into her mouth and started kissing her deeply, she stopped fighting back.

After pulling away, I spoke slowly.

“Megucchi, I’m sorry for dragging you around so much all this time. But I do love you. I want to stay with you forever. The thing is… Sakura and Kyouko feel the same way about me too.”

“Mmm… I could tell just from watching you, Norio.”

“I can’t pick just one person… The years we’ve spent together, everything we’ve built—that means so much to me. But how much you care about someone… it’s not just about how long you’ve known them.”

“…”

“But I want to be clear about this: even if you and I weren’t childhood friends, I think I’d still fall for you. For me, it’s not just about our history. You’re that attractive to me, Megucchi.”

“…I see. Okay. I love you too, Norio… but I need a little more time to sort my feelings out. Especially about Ms. Himeno—I can’t work through that right away.”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll wait until you figure it out. And I want you to get along with Sakura too. I know it’s rough, but Sakura’s not trying to compete with you over anything.”

“I know that. But honestly? It depends on you, Norio. What bothers me is if you favor Sakura over me.”

“Really? I don’t think I’m playing favorites, but… Sakura’s older and I haven’t known her as long as you, so maybe I’m unconsciously being more careful around her. You’re so comfortable with me that I’ve gotten careless. From now on, I’ll make sure to treat you better and show how much I care.”

“Yeah, thanks. That makes me feel better.”

After saying that, Megucchi closed her eyes and asked for another kiss with a soft “Mm.”

When I kissed her again, she wrapped her tongue around mine.

We tumbled onto the bed, completely absorbed in each other, when suddenly the door slammed open and Kurumi was standing there.

“Is Megucchi here? Oh my god, what are you two—wait, you creep! You’re cheating on them?! Go die!”

She screamed, slammed the door, and left.

“Kurumi looked pretty angry… You think she’s gonna be okay?”

“Kurumi’s always like that.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

We both laughed together, and without another word, we started kissing deeply again.

The Next Morning

Kurumi acted completely normal the next day—she woke me up like always and had a normal conversation with Megucchi on the way to school.

When I got to class, I greeted Fujiko and apologized for skipping club the day before.

Fujiko responded warmly as usual, without any blame or anger.

But I realized something: I couldn’t think of her as the “main heroine” anymore.

It wasn’t just my doubts about the Literature Club. The truth was, Megucchi, Sakura, and even Kyouko had become so much a part of my world that there was no room for that old hierarchy.

After morning homeroom, I caught up with Kyouko in the hallway.

“I need to talk to you after school,” I said.

Her face lit up with a big smile, but when she noticed other students around, she pulled herself together and switched to a serious expression.

“Okay. Can you come to the Literature Club room after school?”

“Sure thing,” I said, watching her head back toward the staff room.

The sight of Kyouko walking away was undeniably sexy—those beautiful curves, that flawless figure—I could never get tired of looking at her.

Starting that day, the three of us—me, Megucchi, and Sakura—began eating lunch together.

Though their conversations were awkward at first, it was clear they were both making an effort.

“I’m really happy you two are getting along. Thanks for that, you two. You’re both my adorable kittens,” I said.

“Well, as long as you look out for me, Norio, I’m fine with it,” Megucchi replied.

“Hehe, I’m hoping to become friends with Megucchi too. After all, I don’t really have any other friends,” Sakura added.

“Seriously? Sakura-senpai, you seem so different from before… You used to seem way scarier.”

“Yeah, Sakura’s got that gap moe thing going on now—complete opposite of her discipline committee days.”

“Hehe, it’s all your fault, Norio. You’re the one who changed me.”

“How much of a genuine romance is this!?”

At that, Megucchi burst out laughing too.

From that day on, Megucchi called her “Sakura-chan” instead of “Sakura-senpai,” and Sakura called Megucchi just “Meg.”

There’d probably be more problems down the road, but I hoped these two would keep recognizing each other’s worth, step by step.

For that to happen, my role as a harem protagonist was serious business.

I can’t stay a careless guy anymore.