"Y-you kn-"
I was about to interject, when a thought entered my mind, stopping me mid sentence.
I don't want to hurt her.
"Thank you." She said, in an emotional tone.
She didn't seem to notice my stuttering, instead making me feel more conflicted over her. Some part of me, while it isn't correct, doesn't want me to let go of the frail girl's hand.
"It's alright." I said, "You're... not a burden."
She flinched at the words, a small shiver going through her hand and into mine.
From her hunched over posture I could see a glimpse of a pained expression on her face. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Instead coming closer to me and hugging me again. She felt cold to the touch, and een though she hugged me as tight as she could, it had little strength. I laid my hand on her head, softly stroking the drenched, messed up hair.
"Why... I'm not... can't ever..." She mumbled something I couldn't hear under her breath. Instead of answering, I simply gave her the kindness I could.
Regaining her composure after a minute, she pulled away, an embarrassed flush spread on her face.
"You shouldn't be so nice to me." she said in a gigglish, soft voice, reminiscent of how a girl would sound after she gets a confession from someone she has a crush on.
"Come, I'll show you to your room."
Leading her up the stairway, she followed me meekly in a way that reminded me of how Chiori would when we were younger. The only difference being that she would often tug at my shirt while this girl doesn't. Absentmindedly I stretched out my arm towards her, much the same way as in the past.
To my surprise, she decided to grab onto my hand, a small smile appearing on her face.
When we arrived at Chiori's room, I told her that this would be the place that she would sleep at, and that she could go head to bed and rest. However, she didn't let go of my hand. Not only that, she didn't move at all.
"I don't want you to leave..." she said bluntly, but with a small hint of anxiousness behind it.
"It's not like we can sleep together, though." I responded in turn.
I can understand why she dislikes the idea of being alone again. The vivid image of her slumped, exhausted figure under the bridge vivid in my mind, I can easily imagine the suffering she went through. Still, there are limits to what I can, and to what I should do.
She looked up at me with a puppy-eyed face, giving me a pleading look.
"Please... don't let go."
She gripped my hand tighter, but I could only barely notice the difference. She's so frail that, no matter how hard she tries, she cannot stop me from leaving. It's kind of sad in a sense.
I held her hand tightly, and dragged her with me to chiori's bed.
"Lie down, I'll keep holding your hand." I said, trying to comfort her.
Her grip loosened as she lied down, having a satisfied expression on her face.
"Sorry for asking so much from you, I know it's annoying..." she said in a self-deprecating tone.
"Don't worry about that, nothing to apologise for."
I know that I will regret doing this, that I can't really safe her. But at least, even if for a little while, I can care for her. Even if it's only for today, or so I want to believe, will she have at least some time she can enjoy.
However the day draws close to an end, and soon enough she falls asleep.
Though for some reason I don't let go of her hand, even though I am free to go. Instead taking some time to enjoy her peaceful expression.
Tomorrow it will be over... I won't be able to keep her here, and I won't be able to help her much beyond this. I will just do whatever I can for now, and after that everything will surely go back to normal.
It'll just be one night. And after that she can go back home. There is nothing to worry about.
Thinking that, I set the alarm for 6:30 and bid her a good night. And, as if she could hear what I said, gave a smile and what looked someone like a nod in turn.
Patreon
hey, look there those chapter thingies, they be rarer than shiny pokemon with max IVs!
Route starts right after chapter 18
might wanna number all the chapters. that little bit goes a long way.
This is just for fun until I decide on what to do with this series.
you up for suggestions?
sure, go ahead. I'll consider any suggestions.
also numbering them is a pain lol. bit maybe I'll bracket each route when I'm done, or smtn like that. I'll figure it out when I have to.
for now I just specified what the chapter name was, makes it easier for those that don't wanna count.
Few more chapter thingies coming soon, hopefully, maybe.
@shiyon
also numbering them is a pain lol. bit maybe I'll bracket each route when I'm done, or smtn like that. I'll figure it out when I have to.
eh... just rip the bandaid off and number the ones you have. should take less than 5 mins of time... if this story was closer to 100 chapters then i could see it as a chore. but 20-ish? *in joe biden voice* come-on man!
sure, go ahead. I'll consider any suggestions.
considering what the story has so far, i'd say keep ushiro around and turn her into the 'offical' girlfriend to our MC if she's willing and understanding to MC's relationship with his sister. considering she's based on a person on the autistic spectrum things that don't make sense to her will annoy her to no end if it remotely impacts her or someone she cares about. so initially when she finds out there will be some interesting drama scenes, but she should understand fairly quickly the depth or lack of depth to MC's relationship to chiori. then likely go full supportive or destructive from there depending on the depth, since they're the only people in her life that gives a damn about her. (or i assume, considering she's yet to meet chiori and i can't predict their personality chemistry just yet.)
personally with this story i'd like to see a simple 3p romance drama rather than it go full harem. if ushio will be involved with these siblings anyways. i think it's a little silly to make individual routes at this point. it's too early in the story still to know how things will be playing out in exact details. especially with the limited foreshadowing thus far.
@loshi1505 From my perspective, I think giving each one a personal route would give me some understanding into what kind of characters I'm making. seeing as I'm basically asking myself each time "how would this character react to this situation". May not be the optimal way to go about a story but I think if done well enough it can bring some deeper insight into how the character thinks and acts depending on the changing of circumstances.
My primary reason I stopped writing because it didn't feel interesting, and it lacked much reason or development behind it. So instead of making the story one linear thing, I think trying to make routes, even if silly, will bring a lot more detail to the characters that would otherwise lack.
It is early, admittedly. However, I think it's a good thing to take a step back while I'm still close to the origins instead of rushing forth, losing interest again and ending up with a story so incoherent I would never be able to finish it.
From a different perspective, you could also say this would be a bundle of side chapters, a big "what if" scenario.
Either way, I just hope it will be fun to read for anyone willing to do so.
@shiyon
interesting choice. though i do worry about the routes (For lack of better words) become an equivalent to endless side-quests. but hey whatever works. glad to see ya back in any case.
might be an idea to flesh out the MC more too, like exclusively. maybe give him some more humanizing flaws that his friends, family, lovers help or hinder with. that should help paint the flow of the story by a sh*t ton.
@shiyon
for some random reference material i'd say look at this manga and see where it went off the deep end with character deconstruction/assassination for stupid drama reasons.
https://mangasee123.com/manga/Bokutachi-wa-Hanshoku-wo-Yameta
while i don't ever think you can go that far with characters acting out of character, i still wanna share what looked to be a damn good manga turned to shit. LOL
but yea, a big part of me thinks you worry too much rather than letting your creativity take lead. so if by doing these routes helps you out go for it. just remember they are a means to an end for the story you want to write though.
@loshi1505 I'll go check it out. maybe I do worry too much, but that's all for a reason. one of life goals is to become a really good author, slowly but surely, so I tend to overanalyse flaws and mistakes and worry about things.
For this one though, I'll try to have fun with it and indeed just let my creativity take lead. We'll see if it yields good results.
@shiyon
yess, good anakin! let the dark side flow though you! DO IT!
but in all seriousness let your readers play the role of giving constructive criticism, doing it all on your own in your head can work short term, but never long term. so don't worry if anything feels out of place i'll club you like a baby seal!
@loshi1505 why thank you, I appreciate it a lot.