The Heroines All Regretted It

The Service Club's session ended right on time.

"I bet there aren't many people left on campus."

Yoru packed up his bag while talking.

"If that's the case, then let's hurry."

Yukino wiped the blackboard clean.

"By the way, how's your cat doing?"

After putting away the eraser, she asked casually.

"San-san?"

"Yeah, she's doing well. Got a little fatter," Yoru replied as he adjusted his chair and stood up.

"I... I see."

Yukino turned her face slightly, as if she wanted to say something but held back.

To be honest, she really liked cats—she loved them.

Knowing that Yoru had an adorable pet cat, she couldn't help but think about it.

"I'll head out first. Thanks."

Yoru was the first to leave; Yukino still needed to lock up the clubroom afterward.

As he stepped out of the Service Club room, a strong gust of wind blew straight into his face.

His hair whipped around as the cold wind rushed inside his uniform, inflating it like a balloon before it collapsed again.

"So cold…"

Yoru shivered and hurried down the stairs, keeping close to the wall for support.

One floor down was the Art Club.

A few club members were also packing up to leave.

"Eriri, aren't you heading out?" a long-haired girl asked her.

"You guys go first. I'm almost done. Just need a few more strokes."

Without looking up, Eriri dabbed her brush into red paint.

"It's going to rain."

The girl reminded her, then left with her friends.

Eriri didn't pay much attention. She just wanted to finish her painting—ten more minutes and it'd be done.

Yoru reached the second floor, and just at the stairwell corner, he was stopped by someone.

"There you are! I've been waiting forever."

Sorata had waited an entire hour, both anxious and bored.

"Do you need something?"

Yoru stopped and looked at the unfamiliar boy in front of him.

"You've been hanging around Aoyama Nanami lately, haven't you?"

Sorata got straight to the point, staring hard at Yoru.

Just a gross fat loser, he thought.

Yoru raised an eyebrow and replied, "How do you know that?"

"I saw it."

"What did you do to her? What did you say to her?"

Sorata was clearly upset, his tone accusatory.

"Uh…"

"That's weird. What I do with Aoyama-san—how does that concern you?"

Yoru genuinely didn't understand. Who was this guy?

As soon as he said that, Sorata's heart skipped a beat. His face went pale.

"Tch…"

"Everyone knows you stole Kasumigaoka-senpai's panties and stockings. You're just some disgusting…"

Kanda sneered and launched into his accusations.

But his words were interrupted as a few girls from the Art Club and Yukino passed by.

They only glanced over before continuing downstairs.

"So what exactly are you trying to say?"

Once they were gone, Yoru narrowed his eyes. His expression darkened.

With his size, one punch would be more than enough to take Sorata down.

"What are your intentions toward Aoyama-san?"

"You're trying to deceive her, aren't you?"

Sorata refused to just stand by while a loser like Yoru got close to the girl he liked.

"Aoyama-san is my friend. And again—who even are you?"

"Why are you interrogating me like this?"

Yoru found this guy ridiculous and a bit funny.

"I… I'm Aoyama Nanami's boyfriend. Can you just stay away from her?"

Sorata took a deep breath and said it with a trembling voice.

His heart was pounding like mad—faster than when he'd played a full 90-minute soccer match.

He knew he was lying.

But he told himself, this lie was necessary. It was to keep Yoru away from Nanami. He was sure Yoru had ulterior motives.

A lie for a good cause.

"Boyfriend… huh?"

That answer surprised Yoru.

If this guy really was Nanami's boyfriend, then it'd make sense that he'd be hostile toward someone getting close to her.

"Yes. That's right."

Sorata's adrenaline surged, his entire body trembling.

"You're probably just misunderstanding."

Yoru's expression returned to normal as he calmly explained.

"I don't care if it's a misunderstanding. Just stay away from her. That's all I want."

Sorata forced himself to keep his composure and continued.

This was all for Aoyama-san's sake.

"Haaah…"

Sorata let out a long breath. Feeling quite pleased with himself, he gave Yoru a warning glance before walking away.

Only after exiting the club building did he finally clench his trembling fist.

He walked stiffly, as if his body no longer belonged to him.

A strong wind howled, scattering leaves. The sky was dark and gloomy, like the end of the world.

"So Aoyama-san has a boyfriend…"

Yoru muttered to himself, twisting his waist slightly. A sudden urge to pee struck him.

As soon as he stepped into the restroom, a blast of wind tore through the building like a scythe, sweeping up leaves and damp dirt, howling like a ghost.

The wind died down, but then came the rain.

A torrential downpour roared down from the sky, the sound of it filling Yoru's ears in an instant.

He shivered and awkwardly pulled up his pants. His underwear was tight and uncomfortable.

Not because it was too small.

"This rain's insane."

Yoru pulled out his umbrella from his backpack and gazed out at the curtain of white rain.

This was even heavier than the day he first met Nanami.

Honestly, in his memory, he'd never seen rain this intense.

The moment he stepped out of the bathroom, he had to open his umbrella and hold it to one side of his body.

The strong wind blew the rain sideways, soaking everything in its path.

Raindrops the size of fava beans pelted the ground like machine gun fire.

Yoru walked slowly to avoid slipping, but he couldn't help worrying. His umbrella was flimsy—could it withstand this kind of storm?

This rain didn't just come with wind and water—it made the air freezing cold.

Even Yoru's thick layer of body fat couldn't stop the chill from seeping in.

When the wind carried some of the rain onto his skin, it gave him goosebumps.

At the stairwell corner, Yoru shifted his backpack to his chest to avoid it getting soaked, then made his way down.

With rain this heavy, getting a little wet was inevitable.

Thump thump thump—

The sound of his heavy steps echoed loudly through the storm.

In the corner of the first floor, Eriri was curled up, shivering, hugging her backpack. Her thin school uniform skirt offered little protection.

Hearing the footsteps, she perked up.

"Someone's there?"

Eriri looked up, surprised and hopeful, eyes sparkling as she looked toward the stairs.

She hadn't brought an umbrella.

She thought the rain wouldn't last long, wouldn't be too heavy.

But because she spent just ten extra minutes finishing her painting, she was caught in the sudden downpour the moment she reached the first floor.

With no choice, she had retreated to the corner for warmth.

The footsteps drew closer.

Eriri stood up, rubbing her bare arms for warmth.

The rain was so heavy that visibility was less than three meters. It was like being trapped in fog.

Even her phone had no signal.

This kind of rain could last until the next morning.

Eriri worried she wouldn't survive another hour before freezing.

Just when she was about to lose hope, someone finally came.

She stepped toward the base of the stairs and peeked out.

Yoru, holding an umbrella and bracing himself against the wall, was walking down.

He nearly slipped when a head suddenly popped out from the stairwell's blind spot.

"Sa… Sawamura?!"

Yoru quickly steadied himself and looked down, calling out her name.

Eriri blinked in surprise. She ducked aside in a panic.

"It's… him?"

"No way… why him?"

Leaning against the wall, her small body trembled—not sure if from shock or fear. Her expression was complicated.

What was she thinking?

Yoru came all the way down, still holding the umbrella in front of him. He glanced at Eriri.

She was leaning against the wall, her cute face drained of color, her soft lips pale from the cold.

Yoru paused for a second. He looked at Eriri, then at his umbrella.

And thought to himself:

So… Sawamura-san doesn't have an umbrella, huh.

"W-What are you looking at?"

Eriri's lips trembled as she asked the question. Yoru hadn't even tried to hide his movements just now.

After speaking, Eriri's gaze unconsciously drifted to Yoru's umbrella.

She wanted to leave together with Yoru, but…

Eriri looked up at Yoru—this repulsive fat otaku in her eyes...

Suddenly, her heartbeat skipped.

From her angle, looking at Yoru, she was shocked to find that he looked exactly like the fat otaku from the nightmare she'd had before.

Exactly the same, except the hair was a bit shorter!

Gulp…

Eriri swallowed nervously and shrank back a little.

Why hasn't he left?

It's just the two of us here. Don't tell me he's thinking...

No, maybe I can just share the umbrella with him and leave together.

Her thoughts bounced around in all directions.

Yoru calmly moved his gaze away from the gold treasure box above Eriri's head and gave his umbrella a shake.

This girl who usually acted all high and mighty whenever she saw him, looking down at him with disdain, was admittedly cute—but Yoru felt nothing positive about her.

"He's still not leaving?"

"Should I ask if I can share the umbrella?"

Seeing that Yoru still hadn't left, Eriri was suddenly hopeful.

But the moment she thought of it, she hesitated again.

If it were a girl holding the umbrella, or even just an average guy, it would've been fine.

But it had to be Yoru. That fat, disgusting otaku.

Yoru had no idea what Eriri was thinking. If he did, he'd probably curse her to death.

Wanting to share an umbrella with him while still looking down on him for being a fat otaku?