Love in the Shadow of Roboko ~ My Feelings, Left Here ~
I'm Roboko. A clumsy, slightly useless side character, madly in love with the protagonist, Takeru.
At school, Takeru is always next to his childhood friend Akane. She's energetic, cheerful, and most of all, they're perfect together. Seeing them talk makes my chest ache. But it's okay. Because I'm just a side character.
Then one day, Haruto, the super-popular and ridiculously hot guy in class, confesses his feelings to me out of nowhere! 'I've been watching you for a while, Roboko. Being with y
Love in the Shadow of Roboko ~ My Feelings, Left Here ~ - Trapped Feelings, Friday.
On Thursday night, Roboko could barely sleep.
Lying in bed, Yukito's words kept spinning round and round in her head.
——Do you seriously think Haebara would choose you over Shiina?
That cold voice wouldn't leave her ears.
(I do think that... that's what I wanted to say.)
But she couldn't say it.
The words caught in her throat, and all she could do was hang her head.
Even when Haruto told her to "take him," even when Yukito told her to "give up," her feelings were only for Takeru-kun. That much was unshakable.
But.
Just as strongly, she had no confidence at all.
There was no way Takeru-kun would ever look at her. After all, hadn't she decided that herself? *I'm a side character. The one beside Takeru-kun is Akane-chan* — she was the one who'd been telling herself that all along, just to get by.
She buried her face in her pillow.
Tears came.
No matter how much you love someone, some things just can't be helped — she knew that bitterly, painfully well.
Even so, she loved him.
That feeling, at least, no one could take from her.
Holding onto that thought, before she knew it, the world outside her window had grown faintly bright.
Friday.
The weekend's atmosphere drifted through the classroom.
From the morning, Roboko's body felt heavy as lead. It wasn't just the lack of sleep. Too much had happened over these past few days.
She sat down at her desk.
She took out her star-patterned notebook and placed it on the desk. But she couldn't bring herself to open it.
(Um, uh...)
In her mind, she formed words, then erased them.
If Takeru-kun spoke to her now, what would she even say? Could she even look at his face?
The seat diagonally in front of her.
Today, too, Takeru-kun had a little bit of bedhead sticking up. He yawned hugely as he opened his textbook. Same as always. The same as always, a face that knew nothing.
And somehow, that made her feel just a little bit saved.
The afternoon cleaning duty roster was posted at the edge of the blackboard.
This week's duty fell to five girls, including Roboko. The tasks were the classroom, the hallway, the restrooms, and — organizing the gym storage shed.
After they finished cleaning the classroom, the group leader gave her an apologetic smile.
"Roboko-chan, I'm so sorry. I have cram school right after this. Can you handle the gym shed by yourself?"
The other girls apparently had club activities or other things to do, too.
Roboko gave a small nod.
"Y-yes... that's fine."
If anything, she was grateful.
She wanted to be alone. She wanted time where no one would bother her, where she didn't have to worry about anyone's eyes, where she could just silently keep her body moving.
After school.
She left the school building as the sun began to sink, heading for the gym storage shed.
On the sports ground, the soccer club had started practice. From far away, she could hear the sound of balls being kicked and voices calling out.
The gym storage shed was behind the school building, even further past the gymnasium. An old, single-story structure built thirty-five years ago, its wall paint peeling, rust spots dotting the iron door here and there.
She pulled open the heavy door.
*Screeeeech*, went the rusted hinges, making a grating noise.
Inside was larger than she'd expected — about fifteen tatami mats' worth of space.
Vaulting boxes were stacked up, and mats leaned against the walls. Basketballs and volleyballs gathered dust in their bins. In the back, old, worn-out blackout curtains hung from the ceiling.
The air was damp, thick with the mingled smells of sweat, rubber, and old wood.
"...Hah."
No one was there.
Roboko let out a breath of relief and began neatly restacking the vaulting boxes. She returned the scattered balls to their bins and picked up scraps of mat that had fallen on the floor.
The simple, repetitive work calmed her heart.
(I don't have to think about Haruto-kun or Yukito-kun.)
Just as that thought crossed her mind—
—*Clunk.*
A small sound made Roboko stop her hands.
She turned toward the source of the noise. In the very back of the shed, beyond the blackout curtain, there was a single old vaulting box. On top of it sat a small wooden box.
(What's that?)
She moved closer.
The wooden box wasn't locked. She gently lifted the lid.
Inside was an old graduation album.
On the cover, in gold lettering: "Minakaze First Middle School — 32nd Graduating Class."
(This... this is from our year.)
Without thinking, Roboko picked up the album. Why was it in a place like this? Maybe someone had slacked off on cleanup and hidden it here.
She turned the pages.
Class photos. Faces she recognized lined up in rows. Everyone looked young, smiling.
And then — the memories of that day came rushing back, sudden and sharp.
—The day of the graduation ceremony, third year of middle school.
The ceremony had ended, and it was that time when everyone was in the schoolyard taking pictures, crying with their friends.
Roboko was alone.
She didn't have any particularly close friends, and the loneliness of graduation just spread wide and heavy in her chest. Wanting to hide that feeling, she'd fled to this deserted shed behind the gymnasium.
Back then, too, it had been dim and dusty like this.
If she closed her eyes, she could remember it vividly.
The evening sun of that day had streamed in through the large window, painting orange lines of light across the mats.
She'd been crouching down, her face buried against her knees.
That was when someone knocked on the door.
"...Is someone in there?"
It was Takeru-kun's voice.
Startled, she looked up to find Takeru-kun peering in at her, his face full of concern.
"Hey, what're you doing in a place like this? Everyone was looking for you."
"U-um..."
Words failed her, and she hung her head. He just smiled without pressing further.
"Well, whatever. I'm not great with those kinds of gatherings either."
The hand he'd held out to her as he said that. Backlit by the sunset, it had looked golden.
That hand, that voice, that smile — that was the moment that changed everything for her.
"...Takeru-kun."
She hugged the album tightly to her chest.
Even now, the feelings from that moment hadn't changed. If anything, they'd only grown larger.
But—
Yukito's words flickered through her mind.
—Do you seriously think Haebara would choose you over Shiina?
There's no way he'd choose me.
There's no way I could ever beat Akane-chan.
Even knowing that, she still loved him. That contradiction was tearing her heart to shreds.
That was when it happened.
*WHOOOSH!*
A violent gust of wind blasted in from outside.
*BANG!!!*
An ear-splitting crash.
The rusted iron door had slammed shut with tremendous force.
"...Huh?"
She rushed to the door on reflex.
She grabbed the handle and pushed. It didn't budge. She pulled, but it only made an ugly rattling noise, showing no sign of opening at all.
(N-no way...)
She tried again, pulling with all her strength.
No use.
The door wasn't the type that locked from the inside. And yet, the lock must have broken — it was stuck fast, as if it had been completely bolted shut.
(Wait, could this be—)
She remembered a rumor some of the boys in class had been talking about before.
—That gym shed, the door frame's all warped, y'know. Sometimes people get trapped in there. Seriously won't open, so you gotta pry it open from the outside.
Back then, it had just been a funny story.
But now, she had become the one "getting trapped."
"E-excuse me...! Someone! Someone, please come!"
She shouted desperately, pounding on the door.
*BAM BAM BAM!!*
The iron door only returned a dull sound.
The sports ground outside was far away. The voices of the soccer club, the sound of balls being kicked — she could barely hear any of it through that single sheet of iron.
(My voice isn't reaching them.)
There was a window.
But it was a small window, set much higher than an adult's eye level. Even stretching her arm up, she couldn't reach it at all. The western sun that had been shining through it was rapidly fading.
The sky was clouding over.
Inside the shed, it grew darker and darker.
The shapes of the vaulting boxes and mats blurred, as if dissolving into the darkness.
"N-no... Someone... please, open it..."
Her voice trembled.
Fear crawled up from her feet like ice-cold water.
(If no one comes, like this—)
(If I'm trapped here until tomorrow—)
(If I can never get out of here again—)
The strength drained from her knees.
She collapsed to the floor right where she stood.
"Takeru-kun... Takeru-kun...!"
Unconsciously, she was calling his name.
How long had she been like that?
Ten minutes? Twenty?
She'd lost all sense of time. In the pitch blackness, she just hugged her knees and trembled.
That was when—
"—Is someone in there?"
From outside, a voice she knew.
Her head snapped up as if jolted by electricity.
"Takeru-kun! Is that you, Takeru-kun!?"
"Roboko!? You're in there!?"
His voice was clearly shaken. From the other side of the door, she heard the sound of the handle being rattled.
"The door— the door won't open...!"
"I know! I'll get it open right now!"
From outside, Takeru-kun desperately pulled and pushed at the door. But the door just rattled and shook, refusing to open at all.
"Dammit... no good. It really is warped."
His voice sounded pained, and Roboko's chest tightened sharply.
"Hold on a sec. I'll call someone to come fix it!"
She heard the sound of him taking out his smartphone.
A few minutes later, Takeru-kun let out a small sigh.
"...They said it'll take at least thirty minutes. Friday evening, roads are backed up, apparently."
Thirty minutes.
(Thirty more minutes, in here.)
And what's more — alone with him.
The fear transformed into a completely different emotion.
*Thump.*
Deep in her chest, her heart pounded fiercely. It was just like that day. The day of the graduation ceremony, the hand Takeru-kun had held out to her. And now, he was trying to help her again.
(Is this... fate?)
She immediately chastised herself for thinking that. No. She mustn't get her hopes up.
"Roboko, you okay? If you're scared, I'll keep talking to you."
Just on the other side of the door, she sensed him sitting down.
A distance where, separated by a single thin sheet of iron, she could almost feel his body heat.
"...Th-thank you, very much."
Her voice came out hoarse.
"Still, how'd you know it was me?"
"Huh...?"
"Just from my voice."
Her heart skipped a beat.
(Because I listen to your voice every single day, that's how.)
There was no way she could say that.
"...I-it was just a coincidence."
She lied.
A stretch of silence.
Still hugging her knees, Roboko desperately searched for words.
She had to say something. But her mind was blank with tension.
(Akane-chan...)
For some reason, that name surfaced.
She knew she shouldn't bring it up. But the silence was terrifying.
"...Akane-chan must be worried, I bet. Since you're not back yet, even at this hour."
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
Silence fell, heavy and absolute.
No reply from Takeru-kun.
Ten seconds. Fifteen seconds.
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
"...Why bring up Akane right now?"
His voice had a slight edge to it.
A tone she'd never heard from him before.
"U-um... I-I'm sorry."
She apologized in a fluster.
"Hey, Roboko."
Takeru-kun's voice shifted to a serious tone.
The sound of her swallowing hard seemed unnaturally loud.
"I've... been watching you, Roboko. For a long time now."
—Huh.
What did he just say?
"In the corner of the classroom, you're always writing something in that notebook. I always wondered about it."
Her mind went completely blank.
Her breath stopped.
"You looked like you were having fun, but also... kind of sad. I always wondered what you were writing. But I never found the right moment to talk to you."
Takeru-kun had been watching h
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.