"What I am going to be fighting now is the flow. The flow you can't pull, push or hit. Living life going with the flow is easy. Thinking for yourself about what's right and wrong takes energy, and you can get hurt if you have views of your own that are rejected, on the other hand, following the herd give you safety and security. You don't have to see what you don't want to. You don't have to think about what you don't want to. You can leave everything to someone else. But, there's no reason to torment someone just because everyone else is doing it" I sighed and closed the book, I was reading it on my way home, it was cold and some water goddess (goddess is my choice..k??) thought to make it rain on top too "Great, back to reality, Guess even fictional heroics are beyond me, well in all honesty that's something only a guy who can refugee a stranger at their place, just because she happens to look like their crush can do. Only Sakuta Azusagawa can pull that kinda thing off, like he did. Fighting the flow?? The society?? I would rather laugh at my insecurities about my name and stuff than fighting the flow, 1st it takes time and effort, 2nd my goal is to follow the society not to defy it.... but speaking of strange things, after that girl left, this light novel has become useless, I know it used to have the whole print, how the heck it even disappeared, the only page I see is about Aiko being reincarn-" my eyes widened in shock "can she really be the 'aiko mizuki'... yea like it would really happen, reincarnation and stuff, I am in no middle school to believe that kind of thing" I shook it off of my brain and continued reading, it was almost night, rain was not stopping at this point, and suddenly I saw her, my vision was not processing anything, but her, everything gloomy, colors emiting from her, the soun of rain getting lower and lower, she was sitting at the side of the road, cold, and a tear rolling down her eye "why? Why? Am i stuck here" her voice sounded broken, the colors she was emitting, started to fade away and it struck me like a bullet in the head, I at that moment, felt I can do nothing except give her a hand. "Hey, you, have some kinda weird hobby about getting wet in cold on the side of the road" I said as I put my umbrella over her head "n- n- NO, what kind of sane person would have a hobby like that, I am just ahh just lost I guess" she spoke while wiping off that one tear "yea whatever, do you have a place to go?? Or do you wanna come with me" shit, shit, shit, I've done it now, inviting a girl over who I barely know, what is wrong with me?? "NO, I- I- I- I do not need your help, I wi- will manage" she said to me "than ok, guess I'll leave (nice save ikari, another day and another problem outta my way, but why? Why? Do I feel this subtle pain in my chest)" I thought to myself, when i started walking forward, why the pain is surrounding my heart, WHY?? "WAIT! I guess, if you insist, I can come with you" as soon as those words reached my ears, I turned back with the biggest smile on my face, "Hentai" my biggest smile turned into a 9-5 worker coming home from work in seconds "I am not taking you with me" that's what I wanted to say, but I don't know how to smile, I can't blame her if it's creepy. We shared the umbrella to my home, my eyes glued to her face the whole time, I took her inside and she, she was amused, seeing every corner of my flat with sparkled eyes. Touching the TV screen "what's this black window??", picking and dropping the landline "How do you use this weapon??", she was acting like a child, "so... Aiko right?? As you said you're lost??" she stopped all off a sudden, "ye y- yes as I said I am lost... tha- thank you for taking me in your care" "no need to thank me so formally [i thought to myself Lost, huh? Maybe more lost than she realizes. This light novel... the missing pages... it can't all be a coincidence. But getting involved? That's just asking for trouble. Besides, who needs the drama? Still..." (I glanced at the soaked girl which came huddled under MY umbrella and is thanking ME) "...maybe a little heroism wouldn't hurt my reputation. Just a little, and I am free too, as I even have friends to spend time with...other than that I've defied society already too much to even think about that stuff now, (sighs) Now I've done it, I've become Sakuta Azusagawa]" at this point my doubts were becoming reality, this all can't be a coincidence, is she really from another world, I went into my room, my light novel falls out of my bag and it opens, A new chapter was there on the blank page named
"The princess under the umbrella"