Side by side, under the shade of some trees, two girls leaned against a wall behind the school. After pying around with Ririna to my heart’s content, now was Miyuki’s turn.

  Except Miyuki and I are not like that… I just wanted to talk with her. We managed to sneak out during lunch break. It was too hot on the rooftop at this time of the year, so we came here looking for some shade.

  Miyuki is as beautiful as always… Leaning against the wall while sipping on a carton of orange juice with one knee slightly bent. Just vaguely looking forward into the distance… So cool…

  I could stare at her forever… Her silver hair and blue eyes, both occasionally shining when the sun makes it past the rustling leaves. She’s cool… And I mean that in both ways. She’s cool and cooling. I feel cooler just being here with her. With this weather, it’s exactly what I need. A fulfilling chill, and now, a rousing smile as she turns my way.

  “Wanna go for a swim, Iroha?” Huh? What an absurd question… Is she messing with me?

  “A swim? Right now? Really?”

  “It’s hot, isn’t it? Why not?” She tugged at her shirt a few times to cool off. “We could do a race. Whoever wins is god.”

  “Pfft!” A small ugh escaped my lips. “Is that how gods are being made nowadays? I had no idea.” Are swimmers up to date with this information? “But we can’t. We don’t have anywhere to swim right now, and we have to go back to css when the break’s over.”

  “Oh yeah… You’re right, Iroha…” She looked away with a spacey look. “Maybe some other day then. With those stakes, we’d probably need a little more preparation.”

  “Now you’re seeing reason. Such an important position needs to be decided with careful consideration.” I jokingly nodded. “But actually, I wanted to tell you what happened with my sword. The matching weapon you warned me about.”

  With an upbeat ugh. “Don’t bother. I already know how it ended. Good job, Iroha!” She gave me a thumbs-up.

  “Wait, really? Did you also see it in another dream?” I was feeling a bit smug. I succeeded after she told me I’d die. What’s she gonna say about it?

  “No. I didn’t see anything about it. But I don’t need to. You’re here talking with me, meaning you avoided matching with the weapon. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.” Ehhh? That’s what she’s thinking? Really?

  “Wrong! I ended up going through with it, and it actually worked. The matching was a success, and I got myself a cool, brand-new weapon!”

  “Oh…” Her smile instantly disappeared from her face. Miyuki took a few steps forward, getting away from the wall and turning her back towards me. “Really?” She brought her hand up to her hung face.

  Wh- what? Did I push it too far? I was happy to get one over on her, but… I didn’t want to make her feel bad. “Mi- Miyuki?” I hesitatingly called out to her from behind. “Yo- you weren’t completely wrong, though… It was really dangerous. I only survived thanks to dumb luck…” I got lucky I helped Ririna with the horde. I was lucky I bought Violence Impulse. I was lucky it worked against that girl from the pilr. A series of lucky decisions… Could that be called luck?

  I shook my head and continued. “Anyway, I also got to talk to a weird person and learned something reted to your dreams… You told me you saw our world being destroyed, and you were right. The truth is the two worlds are being drawn together. They’re eventually going to merge, and that will trigger some kind of catastrophe. I think that’s what you saw… You’ve guessed a lot of things correctly, so don’t feel down.”

  “Interesting…” Miyuki raised her head, then turned around. Mysterious was the only way I knew to describe her smile. “Very interesting.” Under the shade, with her back turned to the sun, there was a faint glow in her eyes. They’ve always been beautiful… Very beautiful. But now they were deeper than ever before. Drawing me in. Threatening to drown me.

  “Mi- Miyuki…” I stepped back. Every time she stepped forward, I stepped back. I was immediately with my back against the wall.

  “Iroha!” She let out a cry, and I braced myself. Next thing I knew, she was hugging me. “You’re too reckless! Why would you put yourself in danger like that? You’re making me worried!” Huh? What? She was worried? That’s it?

  “Wh- what are you doing? You were worried?” I froze up. The tension from before was quickly getting repced by the pleasant feeling of her hug. I was getting mixed signals. She’s always so carefree… Was she worried enough to hug me like this?

  “Of course I am! I could only rex because I warned you ahead of time. I thought for sure you’d be safe. That was a big shock! Why didn’t you listen to me?” She hugged me tightly enough that I couldn’t see her face, but her voice was clearly emotional.

  “Well… Sorry…” I awkwardly returned the hug. “But I think it’s thanks to you that I survived. It was thanks to your warning that I knew I should keep my guard up. Thank you.”

  Miyuki pulled back slightly while still holding onto my waist. She had a normal smile on her face. “What are you thinking of doing now, Iroha? That catastrophe… Can you, like, separate the two worlds and prevent them from merging? Can I help?”

  “It might be possible to separate them, but I can’t do that.” It was hard to talk while being so close to her. “The people of the other world would all lose their lives if that happened. That’s not what I want.” Technically, they’d go back to being just characters—ideas without real lives—same thing, really.

  Miyuki looked confused. “What do you want then? You’re not going to let that catastrophe happen, are you?”

  “Of course not… Maybe there’s a way to keep things the way they are… Keep the connection that exists right now without letting things get worse. I think that would be ideal.”

  “Do you think you can do that?” Miyuki looked me straight in the eye. “Achieving a bance is much harder than having the scales tilt to either side. When you bance something off the edge of a desk, it’s as easy to have it fully stable on the table or on the floor. The middle point, however, the sweet spot…”

  Is much harder to find… After a pause, Miyuki smiled and finished her thought. “Can you do it, Iroha? Seems pretty risky. There’s a lot on the line. Are you confident?”

  “I- I don’t know…” I backed off… “Ahahahaha… It’s not like I’ll have a say in the matter. There’s supposed to be something in the other world bringing the worlds together, but I’m not sure yet how it works. I want to get to it, but that doesn’t mean I can do anything about it. I might get there too te. Maybe I’ll find out it doesn’t work like what we thought at all. I can’t say anything for sure just yet.”

  Predicting the future is not my thing. I don’t know how much I can change about our situation, but I know one thing. I have to protect my girls. “All I can say for now is that I want to go there regardless and that I want to protect both worlds. Are you worried about what’s gonna happen?”

  Miyuki finally lets go of my waist and tilts her head to the side with a weak smile. “A little. I don’t want bad things to happen. Either way, I trust you. If your goal is to go to that pce you call demon territory, I think I got some intel for you.”

  “Huh? Really?”

  Miyuki nodded. “It’s not much. All I can tell you is that you’re soon gonna meet someone who can help you get there.”

  “Th- that’s it? Isn’t it kinda vague?” She wasn’t kidding that it wasn’t much.

  “Sorry, Iroha.” She shrugged. “I can’t control what I see. I barely even understand how this works in the first pce.”

  “It’s alright… I don’t bme you.” Given how long we’d been talking, it’s about time we headed back. Carol has probably realized that we’re alone by now, and if she isn’t looking for us, she’s bottling up anger. Not sure which is worse. “Hey, Miyuki, I think it’s time for us to go back.”

  I turned to leave, but Miyuki pulled my hand, spinning me back her way. “Nope! Wait, we’re not done here yet. There’s something very important we’re missing.” A mischievous smile appeared on her face.

  “Hm?” What’s she talking about now?

  “What are you confused for? I got it wrong, remember? You were so smug earlier, so let’s talk about it.”

  “What? Your prediction? You can drop it. I was just messing around. I don’t bme you for anything.”

  Miyuki insisted, pouting. “That won’t do, Iroha. I wanna make it up to you. I’ll do whatever you want. Ask away!”

  “Huh…?” Did she just say that? It’s not even the first time she says she’ll do whatever I want… Is she completely unaware? That’s the one thing you’re never supposed to say… I still owe Carol one of those. “You don’t have to make up for any-”

  “Don’t give me that… What’s the problem? Are you out of ideas?” She closed her eyes in thought, then continued. “How about this then? If there’s nothing else you wanna ask, how about asking me to be yours?”

  “Wh- what?!” After a step backwards, the wall trapped me again. Miyuki kept the gap small and advanced confidently. “W- what’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Ahahahahaha! You’re blushing… So cute…” She was clearly amused by this situation. “What do you think it means? What does it mean to make someone yours? What if you asked me to be yours? What would that mean, Iroha? Hmm?” She reached for the waist and got really really close!!

  “Uhhhhh… Uhhmmmm…” My heart pounded way too hard. It’s making the words not come out. She’s pushing me to my limit… Me and Miyuki… Just like this? “Y- yes…” I still don’t know how to read her… Is she messing with me? Is she being serious? The way she shines… She still seems so out of reach… “I- I want…”

  I can barely process what I’m seeing. Miyuki’s smiling. She’s having fun seeing the few words I’m able to get out. I can’t freeze up forever… Move! Do something! “I… I want you!” I grabbed her shoulders and swapped pces with her. Now she’s the one against the wall. “I want you to be mine… I want to make you mine!” Dizziness… Shouting made the blood rush to my head. “Is that what you wanted?”

  Miyuki stared at me with her eyes wide open. “Maybe… Ahahahaha…” The surprise faded from her face, and she expined herself. “Honestly, I saw a future where we were together, and I was just wondering what would happen if I teased you about it… Wasn’t expecting that you’d respond like that…”

  “Wait! Was it all just a test?!” How embarrassing! Did I blow it? I took a step back out of shame and let go of her shoulders.

  “I wouldn’t say that… I wanted to know what would happen, sure. But I was also thinking that, if it was gonna happen eventually, I might as well move things along.” Miyuki continued leaning against the wall, looking quite vulnerable. Her silver hair cascaded over her shoulder beautifully.

  “Y- you mean, us da- dating? Are you fine with that? Do you even li- like me?”

  “I think I do. I wondered the same thing when I first saw it. Being with you is fun, but dating? That’s a completely different story, isn’t it?” She chuckled. “That’s what I first thought, but then I realized something. If you were to actively pursue me, I’d probably accept. So here we are.”

  “I see… I’m gd to know you feel that way…” Miyuki, of all people, likes me… I’m not dreaming, am I? “That’s pretty simpleminded of you… Not that I’m surprised with how impulsive you are.”

  That comment caused her to pout. “You making fun of me? There’s nothing between us yet, you know, Iroha? Still plenty of time for me to change my mind.”

  “No no! I didn’t mean it that way! I like your… How do I say it? Unpredictable side?” Her anger was successfully appeased, and she stopped pouting. “There’s only one thing I haven’t mentioned… I’ll start off by saying that I love you. I really do, but… I have other girls I’m already dating… And I love them as much as I love you… Are you fine with that?”

  It’s at this point I always realize how dumb harems are. It’s such a ridiculous question to ask. No matter how I broach this topic, it always sounds stupid. It’s truly a miracle that it worked before, but this might be where my streak ends.

  “You’re such an idiot, Iroha…” Miyuki shook her head. See what I mean? She’s even insulting me like Carol now… “When I told you I saw the two of us together, do you think I saw us alone?”

  “Huh?”

  “Yeah! I saw it all!” She leaned forward. “I know you’re a pervert going after multiple girls. I guess I’m fine with it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have brought this up.”

  “You serious?!” Now, my enthusiasm took over my legs, and it was my turn to close the already small gap. “Then, to answer your question from before, I want you, Miyuki! I want you to be mine.”

  Miyuki showed me a rexed smile and nodded. “I accept.” Then a questioning expression appeared on her face. “Ah! But wait. I have one condition first.”

  “A condition?” In a situation like this, the only possible condition would be… “Sorry, but I’m not making you my number one no matter what you say. I love all of you equally. There are no rankings in my heart.”

  “No… That’s not what I had in mind…” Miyuki shot me a narrow, disapproving gnce. “I don’t want you to tell anyone else about our retionship for a while. In return, to make things fair, I won’t ask you to dote on me too much. My heart is not ready for all that yet, so until then, I’d like you to think of me only as a semi-lover.”

  “If that’s what you want, I guess I don’t mind… Why, though?”

  “I’m just not ready for all that comes with it yet. Sorry…” She said with an awkward smile.

  “I understand. You don’t need to feel bad about it. Knowing you’re interested in me already made my day. I’ll wait for you!” To reassure her, I held both her hands.

  “Thank you, Iroha…” After the genuine thanks, her expression became mischievous. “I know you’d probably love to do all kinds of things with me and give in to your lust, so I really appreciate that you can hold back.”

  “Hey! Don’t put words in my mouth like that!” I haven’t done that with anyone! I’m not a beast! At least not yet…

  “I understand, I truly do. That’s why I’ll give you a taste. Just a taste. I hope you’ll let me off with just that.” It was unlikely someone would come here at this hour. But we were still exposed near the wall. Miyuki firmly gripped my hand and pulled me closer to the trees.

  “A taste? Wh- what do you…? Mhmh!?” Kiss?! Sudden Kiss! As soon as we got behind cover, she pressed her lips on mine.

  She didn’t pull back. Her kisses got deeper and hotter as she pushed me against a tree. I’ve been calling her perfect for a while, and that was still an understatement. I love her!!

  “How’s that? A little kiss to begin with.” Disheveled and blushing, Miyuki grinned while panting. There was nothing ‘little’ about that kiss! “This is the bare minimum for lovers, isn’t it? Think you can make do with that for now?”

  “Huh… Yeah…” Bare minimum? Make do? I’m burning up! How am I supposed to go to css after this? It’s gonna keep me up at night!

  Bam100