"We're almost there, hang on!" — The boy said, like I was dying.
"Wait a minute! I'm okay, you don't need to carry me like this."
"Oh… sorry. Here… but I'm still worried since you bumped your head."
"Don't worry, I'm okay. Thank you for helping me."
"Is everything all right? I saw you carrying her, do you need some help?" — A health professional asked from the emergency stand.
"She bumped her head and then fell on the floor. Could you see if she's really fine?" — He explained.
"Of course! Please, miss, feel free to sit here."
"It's okay, I'm really fine."
"Just in case…" — The person from the emergency stand said.
She started asking my name, where I was right now, and asked me to do some specific movements. She even flashed a light in my eyes.
"It seems nothing serious happened. Let me grab some tissues to clean you."
And while she went to grab some tissues, he suddenly talked to me.
"Phew— at least nothing serious happened. Again, sorry for ruining your clothes."
"N—no, it's okay. Rather, I should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry." — I stuttered.
Then the woman gave me tissues to wipe myself, though some stains still remained.
"But hey… everything is okay with you?"
"Hehe, you're really worrisome. Relax, I'm fine, even the miss reassured me."
"No… I noticed that you were crying and… your eyes are kind of swollen."
I'm really a mess then.
"Oh… it's just some stuff... happened. Don't worry…"
"Give me a moment."
Then he quickly went to the stand where they sell takoyaki and bought two sets.
"Here, miss! You should try it while it's still warm."
"Wait, let me at least pay for this."
"No, miss, this is on me. Don't wanna brag, but I kind of have money for myself. So let me act like a gentleman, okay?"
"Well… okay, thank you."
But to be honest, I'm not that hungry, but I should eat it. Otherwise, it would be rude to him.
"You know, miss, I won't ask you any further. But what I know is that if you're feeling down, you can at least feel bad with a full belly. Ah! But if you're already full, don't force yourself. I'd feel bad if I pressured you to eat it."
Hearing this actually made me feel hungry, and so I started eating.
"It's delicious!" — I said.
"Right? Let me eat mine too… Yep! Really delicious!"
For some reason, my tears started overflowing. I tried to hold back, but I just couldn't.
"No need to hold back. And if you want, I can lend you my shoulder."
Before I realized it, I was crying while hugging him.
"sob… it's just unfair… why didn't he like me?… why?… sob"
"He just didn't have good eyes to see you."
"sob… no… he's wonderful… that's why it's so painful… sob."
"Haha, if you say so then he must be… It's gonna be okay, you'll find a person who will look at you."
"sob… no… not in this world… sob…"
"It's tough, true… but you will… have more faith."
I cried for a few minutes until I got a hold of myself.
"Thank you, and sorry for ruining your clothes with my tears and snot."
"Please, miss, that's nothing compared to your stain. Let's just say we're matching now."
"Pftt— haha! You're right, we're both messy."
"Haha! Though in your case you need to put extra effort to clean."
Notification received.
"It seems my friends are worried about me."
"Then, I guess I should be leaving now. Take care, miss."
Then he started going ahead. No, I still wanted to talk with him.
"Wait! Will we meet again?"
"I don't know… Oh! How about we exchange our contact info? My number is—"
"THERE YOU ARE!" — An old lady started screaming and heading in the boy's direction.
"Mom!? Wait a minute, I'm having a great moment right—"
"No excuses! What kind of young man walks alone here!? And how did you get money to spend here?"
Then his mother started grabbing him like a young child who didn't behave properly… what a scene…
Wait! His contact info!
But it was already too late.
I made up my mind now… I'll definitely search for him no matter how much time I need to spend. Because he's the only one who can make me smile like today.
...
♦♦♦
...
Not here…
Not even here…
Where is he?…
I spent all my free time trying to find him. Even after Tomoki-san helped me in the cafeteria where his older sister visits, I still searched all the butler cafeterias available in the city.
I should start thinking about visiting co-ed high schools. Just like Satou-san deduced, there's a high chance he goes there; after all, he can easily interact with a girl.
But wait a minute, from his mother's reaction there's a chance she didn't allow him to enroll in those.
"Himari, you should sleep now."
"It's okay, Mom! I'm not sleepy right now."
"Don't you think you're going too far?"
"What do you mean?"
Then I started to look behind me, where Mom was staring.
"I won't give up, Mom."
"It seems you really liked his hug."
"Maybe… no, I really liked it, and I want to hug him again. For that, I'll definitely find him."
"Himari…"
One thing is for sure, if I really want to find the man of my life, then I must put in a lot of effort… a lot. Besides, I can't relax until I find him.
...
♦♦♦
"Tachibana-san, why aren't you replying to my messages like before? Why did you stop watching my matches like before? Did I do something wrong?" — Senpai said.
"Senpai. As I said before, I need to find the person who helped me that day. I hope you understand."
"And why? Did you fall in love with him or something?"
"I just want to find him and thank him again. Though it's true that I have feelings for him."
"Just with one encounter!? You need to think again."
"I already made up my mind and..." — I glanced at his girlfriends. — "Please, if there's something bothering you two, talk to me directly instead of asking student council members. I'm all ears."
"Did you two seek that guy's help?" — Senpai asked.
"That—" — The tomboy girl couldn't explain.
"We wanted to talk with Shirakawa president, but we had no other choice than to talk with Morikawa-san and Edomae-san." — The girl with glasses explained.
"I see... so not directly to him... Then Tachibana-san, how about we visit some stalls? Since it's the culture festival, we should hang out together."
"I still have to prepare..." — I was almost declining, but when I saw his girlfriends, I thought they would bother Tomoki-san again.
And so I accepted, and we started visiting some stalls.
I realized that Senpai is a really inconsiderate person. All this time he was only concerned about me instead of treating his girlfriends better. I kind of feel bad for them.
If you think about it, it's not a good idea to be his girlfriend unless your only objective is to have a superficial relationship... and when I say superficial, I mean that you only want a one night to sleep with him.
Because one day, when he loses interest in you, he'll just forget about you... something I don't think Tomoki-san and that boy would do.
And so, finally, we went to the fortune teller's stall.
"Hello. Call me Prophet, how may I help you?"
"Then could you see my compatibility with her?" — Senpai asked.
"Sure thing... but what about the two beside you?"
"They are my girlfriends. I'm sure our compatibility is the best one."
"Okay...? So everyone is sure about this?" — It's clear even the Prophet was confused about the situation.
"Yes!" — Senpai and his girlfriends replied.
"Then, how about you, miss?" — The Prophet asked me.
Usually, I would just accept to end this already. But I couldn't miss the chance to rely on the fortune teller at this point.
"I want to find someone... is there a way to know where he is?"
"Eh? Well, I can try if you want..." — The Prophet was really shaken at this point.
"Prophet? Let me help her instead. You can focus on your card reading." — A girl with red hair said.
I guess I can count on her skills, hehe.
"Wait a minute, I'm right beside you and that's how you treat me?" — Senpai asked.
"Senpai, you know that I've been looking for this person for a long time. Please understand. Besides, you should look more at your girlfrien—"
"You know what? You should just go see this imaginary boy you're always talking about!"
After this, Senpai just snapped at me. Something that made me start asking myself if Senpai actually fell in love with me, since whenever I was close to him he always neglected his girlfriends.
But at the same time, he's not that interested in me. Our conversations are mainly about him in the end, and when I tried to show him what I like, he just didn't give it any mind.
Either way, I should still apologize to him. What I tried and did to him and to his girlfriends was wrong.
As for what others think about me now... it doesn't matter, all I'm concerned about now is that person. And besides, I have three great friends now.
Until...
"Sigh~ no wonder you have almost the same grades as that friend of yours. Forget about romance — you're just a creepy girl who draws a bunch of guys to satisfy your own sick desires. I bet this person you're looking for is just one of your drawings. Advice as your senpai — you should spend more time studying than living in a fantasy."
Hehe... right... he's actually right.
If I think about it... what's the chance he's actually from my hallucination? Because at that moment I wasn't in my right mind, maybe my brain just imagined a wonderful boy who helped me?
Hehe... sniff.
I could only run again while holding back my tears as much as possible.
Because in the end, I'm just a girl with a strong imagination.
"Whoa!"
"Kya!"
It seems I bumped into someone again... wait, I recognize this voice.
"Oh! Hello again, miss! In the end, we were able to meet again."
"A—are you real!? Sob... Please, tell me that I'm not dreaming."
"Are you okay? Please, tell me what happened, I'm really worried about you."
"No... it's just... I missed you so much... to the point I was questioning if you were real or not."
He started looking at me with a surprised face and began giving it some serious thought.
"Actually... yes, I'm not a real person. I'm a ghost of your imagination."
Hehe... hehehehe... as I thought.
"Hehe... hehe... sob... hehe... sob. I can't breathe anymore."
"WAIT! Sorry! I thought you were just joking with me. Look, I'm real. Here... can't you feel my hands? ...Or my face?"
"..."
"Then how about this… Hey! You over there! Do you think I'm a ghost or something?" — He suddenly yelled to one of the male schoolmates.
"Ermm... what do you mean? Is your head fine?" — one of the male schoolmate asked.
"See!? You're not the only one who sees me. Please, if you keep denying, the only thing I have in my mind is to do a naked dance in front of everyone and then probably be arrested for public indecency."
"Pftt— ahaha! Sorry, you must be real because I would never think of doing that." — I'm relieved.
"Phew— glad you're smiling now. So, can you tell me what happened? Of course, if you want."
"You have the right to know. As you know, I had someone I really liked. But when I noticed he already fell for another person, to forget him, I started seeking another relationship with another boy who already had girlfriends. But... well... when I realized that I didn't want to be with him, I gradually stopped talking to him. In the end, he was mad at me and he has all the right to complain at me."
When I saw his face, I noticed he was really giving serious thought to this. So much that a whole minute passed with him just thinking about it.
"What a complicated matter. You really went through a lot of stuff."
"I deserve that. I'm aware of how awful I am." — Though, I hope this person doesn't say this to me.
"Okay, before I say something. Did you in the end become his girlfriend? I mean the boy who already has girlfriends."
"No, but we messaged each other and talked occasionally at school."
"I see now. First, you're not an awful person. You were just trying to move on and seek another relationship, it's completely normal from where I can see. Though, I don't advise you to try having a boyfriend who's already committed. But in the end, you decided he wasn't the right choice. Then he doesn't have the right to complain at you... actually, he already has girlfriends, so why is he still mad? Does he intend to be the king of a harem?"
"When you support me like this, I start thinking that you're not real."
"Come on... do you want to see me naked that badly? Oh right! There's an undeniable way to prove it to you."
"How?" — Now I'm curious.
"Don't like to brag... but I got the male scholarship in this school! So... in a few weeks I'll be studying here. Who knows, maybe I'll be in the same classroom as you."
"What!? Seriously!? I'm so happy for you!" — Or rather, for myself.
"Thanks. Oh right! I never told you my name. I'm—"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" — Oh, it's his mother.
"Mom! Please, can't you see I'm talking to a girl?"
"That's why I'm asking what you are doing!" — To be fair, I can only agree with her.
"Trying to be her friend at least? Come on, Mom, you understand, right?"
"Yes, that you're really a reckless man. You know what? I will call you by your favorite name... Sebastian!"
So he actually worked in that place. Satou-san was right on the mark.
"That's not my name! Miss! Don't listen to her."
I could only give him a polite smile, especially in front of his mother.
"Now you will return to our home. Miss, I don't know who you are, but don't even try to lay a finger on him."
"Mom! That's rude! Ermm... Good bye miss."
And so both of them just left the school. Hehe, kind of funny seeing this whole scene.
So that means Tomoki-san's older sister... Erina-san… is my next rival.
But let's think about this later. I'm so happy that I will be able to see him from now on.
I should be going to the auditorium now, I bet I made my friends worried again.
♦♦♦
And now... he's finally here.
When the bell rang, I immediately went to the classroom where he transferred.
But of course, with zero surprise, there was already a bunch of girls trying to see him. But it won't stop me from meeting him.
He's mine!
And when I finally was able to pass through everyone, I could see him standing and talking with all his classmates. He's really popular.
But then he glanced at me.
At first, he gave me a smile and then waved at me... I'm so happy that I'm almost exploding now.
But then, for some reason, he started... crying?
"Is... that you?" — He suddenly talked to me with a trembling voice.
"Yes, it's me!" — I replied. I guess I was blessed by the world to have such a moment.
He started walking in my direction, and then started running?
Wait, isn't it kind of fast? It seems he'll jump… Oh well hehe, if this is what he wants, I'll do my best to hug him and carry him.
Come at me!
"TOMOKI!"
"HOTARU!"
...
...
What...?
Author note: If you made this far, let me thank you again. At first I made this story because the concept of gender imbalance plus isekai really hooked me up. And so I challenged myself to see if I could make an interesting story based on that.
You know, at first I intended to end more quickly as possible, I didn´t intend to make our MC interact with his father and with his sisters plus aunts, after all too much work. But this was my turn point: I got curious what would happen to our MC perspective about this new family structure. So, I started to write more and more.
Anyways, this is a thank you note and farewell note too. I won´t post anymore here... But let me tell you one thing... this story will not end here.
As a reader, I know how frustrating when the work you spent reading doen´t have an proper end. So... See ya!