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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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Chapter 8: Clumsy Hime

I want to start this narration with a premise: I have handled clumsy people before, I have managed to not be too annoyed by this quirk of them, their propensity to trip, fall and cause some awkward issues, and I have definitely helped some to get their balance under check.

Yet, despite that kind of experience, I was outright baffled by the girl called Hikari Aryoko. Mind you, lovely girl through and through- she had Shin's politeness added to a general extrovert-centered attitude. Quite the social butterfly when needed, but terribly… accident-prone. Shin had told me her sister was like that, but I didn't expect things to escalate quickly and to a bizarre degree. The first 'clue' was when I got her back to my flat. Before that, she was talking calmly, happily even, as we chatted about the circumstances that saw her 'imposed' to me. Hikari reasoned that I had the right to feel irritated by this development, and she was quite surprised when I mentioned it wasn't really a true annoyance compared to other stuff. The young woman decided to dig more on what kind of situation she was going to live in for a day or so and she looked pleased to know I had a room for her to sleep in rather than let her take the couch. That just sounded like an extremely stupid move to do to a bro's little sister.

Nonetheless, things were going fine… or that was the case until we arrived at the flat. As soon as I opened the door, walked inside and gestured Hikari to enter, the girl showed off her current issue: as she took a step in, the young woman yelped when her right foot bumped on something that made her trip. I rushed up to make sure she didn't fall on the ground… only for her to trip mid-fall and propel herself forward, and towards me. I tripped backward, the momentum carried by that push tackling me down and… with the girl managing to stabilize herself by sitting down on my lap and… yeah, it was quite the awkward position considering how things were lined up. I noticed on the spot, Hikari seemed to ignore the scandalous pose she was in, unconsciously rubbing down on me in the process and… I could tell this was going to be a very difficult day already.

The White Tiger Prime was leaning down as soon as she recovered from that fall, trying her best to check on me rather than being outright flirtatious as her open view on her cleavage offered by her shirt and current position would suggest. Mustering an inhuman form of common sense, I reasoned that I was alright and that she should get off from me since it was awkward. Hikari just froze at that last bit, her wide-eyed look encompassing confusion, realization and embarrassment. She was soon off from me, got up and then offered me a hand to lift myself off the floor. She was also showering me with endless apologies on what had just happened and… I just decided to put her at ease with a head pat, a move that not only silenced her but calmed her down. Shin had mentioned that it was one of those gestures that still got her to be at ease and so… I was free from that nervousness. For a while.

Once I had her set up in her room, I thought I would be spared from any form of clumsiness whatsoever for a while. I didn't think this was just the beginning of a long spree of matters of this kind… but it was. The next one was even more insane than the first one, just as a smarter man would have predicted. Sadly, I knew that I didn't know everything, and this proved it to me. As I was sitting by the couch, sorting out some thoughts on the matter, I heard Hikari scream from her room. Instantly jumping from the couch, I bolted to check on her, seeing that her temporary room's door was open wide, giving me the chance to rush inside quickly. Sadly, the girl was rushing out of it just as I was getting there, with her momentum carrying better as she jumped in panic at my sight. Result? I was once more on the ground, this time I had my head squished by her thighs as she held on to me dearly as she said something about a spider or something like that, and begged me to get the thing out of it.

First thing first, I had to dislodge myself from that soft and incredibly lewd circumstance. Mind you, there is nothing wrong in this position… if it wasn't from a girl that I had just met and clearly wasn't trying anything funny. Like, the temptation was there. I was no chaste man but… context. The context was fucking damning. Slowly but surely I had her get off from me as I went to handle the spider. The spider proved to be a small centipede that had curled up and already died. Very anticlimactic, and only got the girl to shower me with more apologies for the disturbance as I told her what had happened. After that scene, she joined me in the kitchen as I prepared something for lunch. She wanted to tag along, and I saw no reason to refuse some help for a time and… she was really good at helping when necessary. On her feet, merely nodding and barely questioning what I asked her to do to help in the overall process to get our meals ready. Once everything was ready and we were eating at the table, I thought that the worst was now over and away from leaving me in any other sexual circumstance.

I was wrong.

Just as Hikari got up from her seat, right beside me, and tried to walk out of it, her tail had remained coiled around the chair's body and had acted as an anchor-like weight. Which promptly had her stiffen up at the resistance, with her legs going tense and her footing was lost as she tripped once more on me. This time head-first on my crotch. Not the 'headbutt on the dick' kind of development, but more 'whoopsie, I landed my nose on your groin'. She got up from that quickly, no amount of naivety giving her mental protection from that embarrassment and… you know the drill. More 'I am sorry' and more 'It is alright, please stop apologizing' routine. That was actually getting me the most riled up. Like, I could understand the fact she was really mortified for this, but this last bit with each aftermath was easily denting at my patience. I could handle this many apologies before those started to lose genuineness before my eyes.

Still, the table was soon cleared, the plates were to be washed in due time and I did so as I was finally alone with my thoughts, with the girl I was temporarily housing deciding to check something on her bags. Hikari spent a few more minutes in her room after that last antic, getting some of the stuff she had to put out of her luggage for any necessity, such as a fresh pair of clothes, some underwear, and hair conditioners. Yes, the girl had plans to shower at my place, something that was reasonable considering how she had been unable to do so for a while due to circumstances and… she was sweating a bit between awkward situations and panic moments. Still, I took the extra steps to make sure the classic anime trope of the guy walking into her showering or bathing didn't happen. I might enjoy some of those lewd developments, but I decided just to not headbutt into that chaotic mess that was her clumsiness.

"So, when are you going to… use the bathroom?"

My question instantly got the Prime's attention. We were sitting by the couch, watching some TV when that query came up.

"Uh… why?"

"Three clumsy reasons," I remarked dryly and she blushed instantly. "But seriously, I don't blame you for anything… but I have seen too many anime and I know how this goes."

Hikari frowned. "Anime? What do you mean?"

"You..." I was a bit confused by that response, but then I realized Shin had already told me his family lived a traditional life back in Japan with close to no TV time and… definitely not for anime-related stuff. "I guess I can explain. There is a bit of a situation in some of those anime for old teens to young adults where guys end up stumbling on girls taking a bath or a shower because the doors are left open and because they don't know the bathroom is busy."

"Oh? So you want to know… because you don't want that to happen?"

"Yes- and before you ask, no, you don't need to say 'I am sorry' again. I got it, you're clumsy."

"But this… it's always so abrupt that many think I'm doing it on purpose," She argued, looking away for a moment. "Not many believe that I'm not trying to be… a bad person."

"You're not. That's… I guess that there are points that make people think you're lying when you tell them you're sorry," I brought up with a serious look. "First, the fact that you apologize a lot."

The girl's eyes widened in confusion. "Why would apologizing become a reason for doubt?"

"Put it in perspective. Someone does something out of clumsiness many times, and they profusely apologize for each of those. They just apologize a lot, not just once and that feels forced in some aspect since it's an ingrained mechanism within their minds," I explained flatly. "You are polite, that's what I got from talking with Shin and having you around for a few hours, so your response to awkwardness can be mistaken by others that don't know that as just you lying about it."

Her mouth opened, yet no sound left it as she thought about it. Then, her lips pressed shut.

"I-Is it like that?"

"People can get assuming when they don't have information on someone. They are quick to jump to justify unusual and awkward matters as things born from maliciousness. Like pranks or even outright harassment."

Hikari tensed up. "I-I don't want to-"

"And I know that, but people that don't know that about you will not see that."

"...Oh."

"Yet, I'm also confused as to why you are not working on fixing that."

Perking her head at that, the girl huffed. "It-it's not that easy."

"But it's possible," I argued dryly, glancing at her with a serious look. "And it would help you in the long run."

"It's… I guess I just don't see the point of it. Sure, it's annoying-"

"And it would hurt you if it happens that the one you trip on isn't a good person," I interjected. "Like, I get it. It's a tough matter, but we all have some embarrassing flaws we have trouble beating down, and this one could actually end up in a bad situation for you. What happened in these few hours? It could have led you in some horrible circumstances had I been a horrid person."

The White Tiger Prime tensed up a bit, tearing a bit at the stern wording I was using and…

I sighed.

"Look, Hikari… I know. You don't want to change because others tell you to, but what I'm asking you, which I think would be something your family would agree on, is that you change for your own sake. Your own betterment and… I guess your own happiness, to preserve it from those that don't mean well to you."

…

She looked away. "It's still complicated."

"Why?"

"It's just that I have been put through some expectations that I have to fit right about and… I don't have time to deal with my own problems," The girl muttered back. "And don't press it. I just… I don't want to talk about it."

…

"Sounds like someone is forcing you to do something you don't want to," I argued and she scoffed.

"I said-"

"But I don't listen to this kind of threat when someone is hurting. I swear, first Hope and now you? Am I some sort of magnet for girls with complicated lives? I swear..."

Hikari's eyes narrowed at that, but out of interest rather than irritation. "You know Big Sis Hope?"

"Well, yeah. We are good friends," I replied truthfully. "And I bet you know her from the time she was dating your brother?"

"Before that. Our families have been close for some time," Hikari admitted and… offered a tiny smile. "Still, you shouldn't… press on it."

"What if I do?" I pressed despite her best effort, "Also, what about these expectations? Why not just say 'nah, I am not doing that' and be done with it."

"It's not that simple."

The answer had me scoffing. "Life isn't simple in general. And I know for a fact you have yet to live on your own, have a job, sustain yourself without the help of others- I think only then we can talk of 'things being not simple'."

My rebuttal left her stunned and… annoyed.

"It's more than that."

"And how do you know that?" I argued back, failing to grasp her point with how little info she was willing to let out.

"Because… it's much bigger than just that," She remarked with an incensed voice. "It's something many lives depend on and I can't just say no to it. It would be horrible, bad… It would be something no one would accept."

…

"So, you are afraid of what others would think if you say no to that duty? Sounds more like a reason to actually go for it."

"W-What?!" Hikari exclaimed, shock evident in her blue eyes. "That sounds so egotistical and-"

"Spare me the selfless spiel. That's not what it is all about," I shot back, starting to get irked by people going back into this matter. "As far as I can see, there is nothing wrong with wanting to be in charge of your life. Everyone has a right to live that should be theirs to decide how to use. Not because someone told them to do something or because 'it is the right thing to do'. Nothing is right if, in this age and time where people are allowed to pursue happiness, there is one or two that aren't. That is just plain unfair and hypocritical."

And before I knew it, Hikari had me pulled in a very tight hug with her breasts pushed against my face and tears raining over my head. It took a while to calm her down, the boobs' enticing hold lessening my resolve for a while and… yet I got out of it as safely as possible. The rest of the day, surprisingly enough, went on particularly smoothly. Hikari tripped a few times, but I didn't end up dealing with the same kind of awkward scenes as before. I could tell she was putting an effort to hold back on that matter. The day ended, the next one started and a beaming White Tiger Prime went on to hug her brother tenderly as we got back to my workplace.

Shin was a bit confused by the strangely bubbly mood of his sister, mentioning with a quiet tone it was the first time he saw her this 'free' and happy like that. It left him smiling… somberly. I was confused by the overall circumstance, but I didn't push on it. Not when Naerie gave me the kind of nod that told me one thing. She would tell me more of it in private, and away from causing any trouble. And I just could tell that it was going to be a big revelation about Hikari and her own plight.

Still, as I looked at her interacting and joining us for today's shift, I couldn't help but spot some nervous glances aimed at me. Small smiles, uneasy looks and… blushing left and right whenever she was looking in my general direction.

Yep, this was going to be more complicated than I had expected...

AN

Hikari holds a very big secret, and one that leaves her before a duty that not many her age would want to ever deal with. Sadly, there is no middle ground and whether decision she picks, the result will see radical changes in her life. Also, she might or might not be bearing a bit more affection on John after that talk, but it will become more evident in the next chapters.

But now, Naerie has something to say… and something to ask back. Next time, a lemon!