Reverse Harem 5 (Akiba End)

Now the truth was laid out for him to see. It was now Akaki's turn to respond to learning of his friend's newfound situation. Never once did he ever think he would put someone who had been nothing but kind to him into this type of circumstance.

"You don't have to hold back for my sake." That was his response to Arata's statement of not pursuing Akiba. "If you really like her, then I won't stop you."

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Arata was in disbelief over what was just told to him. "Why won't you?"

"Don't you remember?" He responded. "I was already supporting her for Yogi since the start." Indeed that was how it was when they first met. Akaki had already been resigned to his fate, but it was because of Arata's arrival that things began to change. "I only want her to be happy."

"That's… Not good." Arata replied with sorrow. Tears welled up in his eyes as they ran down his cheeks. "Because, I don't want to be the one who hurts you."

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Akaki was in the same boat. They were good friends for one another, and having someone like him who was aware of his feelings was comforting. Not only that, but this boy also supported him all the way, trying to push him to become more bold. "It's not like we both should give her up."

"Maybe it might be time to tell her how you both feel." It was Misao who gave them the suggestion. "I don't want to continue to watch in silence as my friend suffer quietly for the sake of others.

"Is that really okay?" Of all the times to confess, this hardly seemed like it. Especially since it wasn't going to be a normal confession.

"I'll support the two of you, no matter the result." She assured them that things would work out somehow. To her, she did have her preference on who the victor of Akiba's heart was going to be. However, she was going to accept whatever happened and comfort the loser of the pair. Heck, for all she knew, they'd both get rejected as that girl was known to have a crush on her childhood friend in Yogi.

"Then, if you're willing to take that chance. I'll stand by your side." Arata made his stance clear as he held out a hand.

"I'll do it." Akaki did him one better by using the boy's hand to pull him in as they shared a completely platonic embrace. Their friendship was going to be tested to its limits.

"When you two are done..." She was a bit upset with the sight as jealousy took hold of her body. Why did Arata have to be so lucky with that boy? "I'll take care of things, so don't worry about anything but telling her how you feel.

They weren't sure on what she meant by setting things up as they returned to the group. Though it seemed she was able to get Yuki on board with the plan as she started with that girl. It was an odd request that would normally be declined by a shy girl like her, That being to bring up this company was starting up a live-action branch and had some cosplay stored in a certain room they were allowed in.

This then caused Yogi to take interest in it as well. Since she was aware of his feelings for her, Arata was certain this plan was using that to her advantage. Now it was time for Akaki and him to act and finally take that scary leap. One of them had been waiting years for this, while the other had only waited a mere hour. Either way, it was time to find out.

"So, I guess it's the three of us." Akiba was none-the-wiser as she spoke to the two boys. "Maybe we should go look for my mom. She should be about done catching up with her friend I hope."

"Actually…" Akaki had to come up with something to put them into a better position. "It's a little stuffy in here. So I was wondering if we could take a detour outside for some fresh air."

"Yeah." Arata backed him up on that matter. "Let's go outside."

"Sure." Since those two had been for it, she considered it to be a good idea for a little bit. "Let's head out." So they walked out the front door, heading off to the side for a bench to sit at. Now it was time for the pair to make their move.

"Akiba…" Akaki was the first one to speak up. "We actually… Have something to tell you."

"Hmm?" She had a worried expression on her face. "What is it?"

"…" The pair stood in silence as they stood still in the quiet wind. They faced her with the fear any boy would have when they were about to confess to the girl of their dreams. For them, it was made worst that they weren't alone. "We… Are in love with you." Arata and Akaki both made their confessions in unison.

"You… You do?" She was in shock over hearing this. It was one thing to get a confession by a person, but a completely different thing to get two at the same time. "I, I don't know what to say."

"There's not a lot we're asking for." Said Akaki. "The truth is, I've been feeling this way about you the whole time. Even as I've supported you with Yogi."

"When he says it like that, it makes me seem a bit weak." Arata admitted the clear disadvantage between them. "Maybe I've felt this way about you for a while, but I've only realized my feelings after us talking today."

"You two…" She was in panic over their reveal. "I mean, I've thought about… Both of you too." The girl admitted her own confused feelings between the trio of boys she knew. A rather worrisome existence to be falling for those around her in this manner. "I… I… I can't do this!" Feeling her back against the wall, Akiba couldn't give them a proper answer. Instead, the girl took a 180 and tried to run away from her problems.

"Wait!" However, Arata was quicker than her on the draw. He swiftly moved and grabbed her from behind. The boy embraced her in a tight hug from behind as tears fell down her face. Despite feeling as stressed out as her, he spoke with a calm and soft voice. "I know it's hard, I get how you feel."

Out of all the people she knew, he definitely was the one most experience with struggling with more than one love interest. "Whatever your response is, whatever you truly feel in your heart. We'll support your decision all the way. Because I know you're worried about losing any of us as friends, but that'll never happen." Akiba froze in thought as she finally came to the realizations of her struggling feelings. It had been a challenge in trying to decide what were real and what were temporary. But there was only one in her life that encouraged her to find out what was real with her. And not only that, but to try and be more real with those around her.

"Arata…" She whispered as he continued to hold her tight, yet softly.

"What?" He said, barely able to catch her words.

"Arata… I… I love you, Arata." She finally made her decision upon thinking hard on it. It certainly wasn't easy coming to that choice, and no matter what she did, it wasn't going to be easy in the future.

"I see…" Akaki heard what was ultimately his silent rejection. He began to cry tears of mixed emotions. It was painful to finally reach the closure of knowing that the girl he grew up with didn't return his love. Yet at the same time, he was glad to see the two of them happy to finally find their own love. So this was an extremely bittersweet moment for him.

"I feel like I should be happy, but I don't." Arata himself was mixed on the results despite being the ultimate winner for Akiba's heart. "In order to be happy, someone else had to get hurt."

"That's just life." Misao popped up out of nowhere, nearly scaring off everyone there. "Sorry, but I need to check out to make sure things were okay here." While she was somewhat glad about how the results turned out, that didn't make the sight any easier to watch. "And I'm sorry Akiba for putting you in that tough spot.

"I think it's for the best." The girl replied with that soft smile of hers she was famous for. She still had Arata on her back as he had yet to release his hug on her. "I was trying so hard to keep everyone happy, that I didn't want to rock the boat." So being confronted with her fears were all she needed, just as the boy had already done for her. "Arata?"

"Hmm?" He finally took note that he had been holding onto her for an uncomfortable amount of time. "Oh, sorry about that."

"You don't have to be." When he attempted to separate from her, she stopped him. Akiba caressed his cheek as she kissed him on the lips for the first time. It felt even better to him than the one she shared with him on the cheeks. This girl truly was someone to fall in love with.

"Don't worry too much." Meanwhile, Akaki averted his gaze. Despite being willing to accept the results, it was still hard to see it for now. Misao was more than ready to be the one to help him move on. "I'm sure there's plenty of girls around who'd love you." For the first time, she hinted her feelings towards him by holding his hand.

"Well, I guess one day my heart will be ready to move on." He smiled, glad that someone was there looking out for him. "But for now, how about we head back inside and find Akiba's mom? Just like we promised."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea." She agreed as Akiba and Arata finally separated. Though they didn't stay separate as the pair held hands as everyone walked back inside.

"I'm so happy for her." However, their supposedly secret meeting wasn't so secret after all. As Akiba's mom and her friend had seen the whole thing when looking out of the window from the woman's office. "It's a shame though, I'll have to help her not feel so bad for rejecting Akaki."

"Even though I'm in a loving marriage." Said Enokida, the boss. "She could've just had both of them as boyfriends. That's turned out to be quite the popular anime this season." The pair of them laughed as they exited the office to meet up with the kids once more.