Side Characters

Side characters.

Simply put, are characters around the protagonists that support them, agree with them, and make them shine.

They are total nobodies whose sole reason for existing is to serve as fodder for the main characters. They lack personality, charm, and relevance.

In a way, I may have been a side character all these times.

I have known this fact for quite a while already, but it’s not like I hate the idea of being one.

Side characters just have to play their part, say their line, and poof! They have nothing to do with anything afterwards. Isn’t that amazing? For me, it is.

But of course, things are not as simple as that.

“I’m begging you, Eichi! Help me!”

There was someone in the same year as me who’s considered as the most popular guy in the school.

He’s sociable, nice, and energetic. He’s the kind of person that everyone gets along with. He’s good at sports and approachable, whatever he lacks, he can make it up with his bright personality.

The difference between us is like heaven and earth.

While everyone was gathering around him as he became the center of attention, I was in the corner minding my own business.

Anyone would think that the two of us have nothing to do with each other given our incompatible personalities. It was understandable, but to those who foresaw this cliched plot, you can probably take a guess and get the facts right.

The person mentioned above coincidentally belongs in the same class as me. Coincidentally, he also lives in the same neighborhood. Coincidentally, we also grew up together.

Coincidentally, that guy is my childhood friend.

Shuugo Arisugawa has been my best friend for a long time. He’s the most popular guy in school and has no shortage of people around him. He’s a subject of admiration for everyone, regardless of gender.

I personally look up to him as well.

For such a special person, I don’t understand why he continues to stick around me when he gets along with everyone easily.

Despite my doubts, I have no reason to push him away and we’ve spent a long time with each other to start being distant for something as petty as that.

Shuugo has never treated me badly, all I’ve received from him was kindness. He is a really amazing person and I’m thankful that I became his friend.

If this is a novel, I’m pretty sure that the main character is Shuugo.

That day, when Shuugo showed up in front of me with a desperate look on his face, I knew that I must lend a hand to my best friend.

I don’t know what kind of dilemma he was having but no matter what it was, I will definitely play my role as his friend and give my support unconditionally.

Turns out, this best friend of mine took an interest in a girl named Sarina Yamazono.

Now, that was a name that everyone in the school has heard of.

Yamazono-san is hailed as the prettiest girl in the school. She’s also in the same year as us but in a different class so we don’t have much interaction.

“Eichi! You must help me! The first time that I saw Yamazono-san, I knew that I fell in love at that moment!”

I have never seen Shuugo act so dreamily and flustered like that. If it was a different person, I might roll my eyes and shrug indifferently but I could feel the sincerity in Shuugo’s expression.

From then on, I started working in the shadows to help him get closer to his crush. The fact that I have no knowledge in this field aside, Shuugo has been working hard so I also had to step up my game.

___

There was a time when I was moving in the background to help Shuugo become closer to Yamazono-san, it was then when I unexpectedly met someone who’s snooping around in the same fashion that I am doing.

A bespectacled girl was spying on the two from a fair distance. She has a frustrated expression on her face and keeps mumbling curses under her breath.

I thought that she’s a malicious person at first, but when we managed to have a confrontation…

“You’re also a side character, right? Why don’t we work together to bring those two closer?”

The girl, whose name I found out later to be Ayame Yuuno, offered a cooperation with an uncharacteristically confident look on her face.

Normally, if anyone were to be called a ‘side character’ in front of their faces, it’s to be expected that they would feel insulted.

Strangely enough, I didn’t feel that way. In fact, I also felt that Yuuno-san and I are kindred spirits who share the same role.

I am very much aware that this mission is a tricky one so I don’t mind taking whatever help that I could to accomplish my goal. I made a comrade in arms in Yuuno-san.

Taking the hand that she’s offering, an alliance was sealed with a handshake.

“I’m looking forward to working with you, Yuuno-san.”

“Same here, Tomoru-kun.”

It was an anticlimactic turn of events. Two side characters working together in the background to bring the main characters together is nothing unique.

But for us, it was the start of an uninteresting yet fulfilling story…

___

“Tomoru-kun, are you listening?” Yuuno-san called.

“Yes…” I mumbled absentmindedly.

The two of us have been working together to bring Shuugo and Yamazono-san together for a while now. However…

There is still no progress.

It is not the fault of side characters like us if the main characters are too dense to notice a thing!

I mean, that might be a perk of being the protagonist. They can act clueless for all they want and it’s still alright.

Today’s plan was supposed to be lunch time with the two of them alone.

Spending lunch with each other can bring them closer, even for just a bit.

With Yuuno-san’s help, Yamazono-san made bento for Shuugo. I was informed by my comrade that it turned out well despite Yamazono-san’s horrible cooking (according to Yuuno-san).

To make sure that Shuugo is free at lunch, I pretended to invite him to make his schedule available. He said okay at first so we got our hopes up.

However, I received a message just now that the idiot won’t make it because the basketball team wanted to have lunch together.

What are you? High school girls?!

I underestimated things. I believed that Shuugo would stay true to his words even if I told a lie myself.

At some point, maybe I’m not that surprised. Shuugo is popular after all. There are many people who are dying to have lunch with him. Considering that I was the one who invited him might be a bad move.

In the end, Yamazono-san got stood up but that did not turn out negatively because her other friends also invited her to have lunch with them.

It might seem like everything turned out great…

As if!

I harshly poked the tamagoyaki on my bento out of frustration.

“Get a hold of yourself, Tomoru-kun! We can still hook up those two if we don’t give up on them.”

“You’re amazing, Yuuno-san. You can still look at things positively,” I whispered and grimaced to myself.

“Ah, no…” Yuuno-san looked away. “I’m also at the end of my patience here. I feel like I could commit a crime right now.”

A dreadful air filled the surrounding.

This is no good. We’re losing hope about what to do with those two.

“I’m sorry, Yuuno-san. I didn’t expect that idiot Shuugo wouldn't get the hint.”

“It’s alright.” Yuuno-san nodded in understanding. “There was a time when Sarina-chan was the one who did not get the hint either so that makes it equal.”

This is not something that is known by everyone but Yuuno-san is close with Yamazono-san.

In the school, those two rarely interact with each other because Yuuno-san is careful not to damage Yamazono-san’s reputation by being associated with her. It’s not my place to say anything to her since I also feel the need to distance myself from Shuugo at times.

However, those two are really close enough to hang out with each other once school is over.

“But at this point, we’re just going in circles.” I took a sigh of disappointment.

“It’s alright. Those two really like each other so they will eventually end up soon. We just have to play our role as supporting characters to make sure that it will happen.”

It was not a secret that those two are in love with each other.

Shuugo is head-over-heels for Yamazono-san. As his best friend, whenever we had the chance to chat with each other, all he talks about is ‘Yamazono-san this… Yamazono-san that…’. I can’t find it in myself to stop him so I just let him be and I’m amazed at how long he can prattle about his love without stopping at all.

At the same time, Yamazono-san also has a deep crush on Shuugo. I don’t know the details but it seems that Yuuno-san was asked to help because Yamazono-san is too shy to do anything about it.

The fact that those two actually like each other but are unable to make any progress is partly the reason why Yuuno-san and I have an alliance of sorts. We share the same situation and mission, and we both accepted that we’re supporting characters for their love story.

“You’re right,” I simply said.

“Let’s just eat our lunch and think of our next plan,” Yuuno-san muttered with a sigh.

Under the shade of a tree outside, the skies are covered with clouds. A cold wind blew towards us.

Yuuno-san and I took our lunch together with a bitter taste of defeat after the spectacular failure of the day.

Today, things didn't go as planned.