[Yamada Ryo couldn't stand Ikuyo Kita's indecisiveness. She always thought too much about others and buried her own feelings deep inside. To Ryo, that made her no different from those who lost themselves trying to please the world.]
[It was Ikuyo who turned down Haru's confession in the first place. That's why Ryo thought, "If she doesn't want him, then I'll take him," and made her move.]
[But after seeing Haru sink into gloom because of her actions, Yamada Ryo sought out the real culprit—Ikuyo Kita.]
[Now, Ikuyo's eyes were puffy and red. Even her usual cheerful voice had gone hoarse. The senpai she looked up to most, and the boy she liked, had gotten together without her knowing. It was too much to bear.]
[Faced with Yamada Ryo's direct "provocation," Ikuyo Kita, who had kept her feelings locked away, finally exploded.]
[She shouted her feelings for Kazami Haru at Ryo. That surprise visit had been her way of responding to his confession. But—]
[She was the one who came first, whether as a friend or a confession.]
[She was the first person Haru ever confessed to. So why did others keep trying to steal away that tiny bit of happiness she had left, one of them even being the senpai she admired?]
[She could fight boldly against strangers, but when it came to Yamada Ryo, she became weak.]
[Even when faced with Ikuyo Kita's emotional outburst, Yamada Ryo remained expressionless. When Kita finished venting, Ryo replied in a tone colder than anything she'd ever heard from her before—]
"You should've acted a long time ago. But instead, you kept waiting for things to grow naturally. In the end, it was just your one-sided wish. You're always worrying about how others feel, but you never thought about how he feels."
"The person you like is right there and you still can't hold hands or kiss? If it were me, I wouldn't stand for that."
"Ikuyo, you really are someone who only thinks about herself."
Well, that turned the mood on its head.
Kazami Haru watched as Yamada Ryo figuratively blasted Kita point-blank with a special attack, he nearly choked on his own breath.
If it were him getting ripped apart by Ryo in that cold tone of hers, he'd probably break on the spot. And right now, Ikuyo's mental state was hanging by a thread.
He didn't even want to imagine what might happen to her after getting hit like that.
"Yeah... I should probably be a little nicer when I talk to Ryo next time."
Coming out of the intense simulation, Haru felt the exhaustion creeping in. It had been one of the most emotional rollercoaster "runs" he'd ever done.
At first, he'd just wanted to go down a pure romance route to farm item card points. Somehow it had escalated into this full-on psychological meltdown.
And once he'd used that special item card, he had lost all control over where the simulation went.
He thanked the heavens that the simulated target hadn't been Nijika-mama. He didn't even want to think about how someone as gentle as Nijika would handle that kind of emotional whiplash.
Only someone as sunny and strong as Ikuyo Kita could just barely manage to hold on.
Ikuyo Kita, you're incredible.
Now then, it was time to clear her route once and for all!
[Yamada Ryo's unrelenting coldness struck Ikuyo Kita like a hammer.]
[Her swollen eyes widened, and tears like strings of pearls streamed down her face. Her throat felt squeezed shut, she couldn't find the words to fight back. Her feet staggered back of their own accord.]
[Ikuyo Kita ran away again.]
[Ryo had only wanted to scold Ikuyo for not cherishing you more, but she hadn't expected that Ikuyo's feelings were this deep. At that moment, guilt, regret, exhaustion, and sorrow flooded Ikuyo Kita's heart.]
[She fled her own home in disarray. You couldn't even imagine where she might have gone.]
[You had a sinking feeling in your chest, but no clue where to begin. So you decided—]
[1. Report to the police for help]
[2. Don't rush, let her cool down first]
[3. Contact the rest of the band and ask them to help search]
[4. Virtual Reality: Simulate personally]
It had been a while since an option hit this hard.
It was obvious Ikuyo's emotional state was in shambles. If left alone, something awful could really happen.
The problem was, none of the options felt reliable to Kazami Haru.
No matter who he turned to for help, it felt like a gamble.
"This isn't going to work."
He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and focused on the last choice—Option 4.
It was a special route he had never once used before: "Virtual Reality"
Choosing this would immediately consume three simulation attempts, and he had exactly three left. That meant once he activated it, he'd have no retries.
Even so, it can't be casually handed over to an choice that even he finds unreliable, right now.
[Confirm use of 3 simulation attempts to begin 'Virtual Reality'?]
Yes!
...
The moment he confirmed the simulation, Kazami Haru's vision blurred.
The colors around him shifted. The air felt different. Even his sense of touch and the way his body responded changed drastically.
A light breeze cooled his skin. His eyes stung faintly with moisture. His hand cut softly through the air as he reached forward, and he could even catch the faint scent of flowers drifting on the wind.
Raindrops fell from the dusky sky. The cold sensation jolted his tired mind back to clarity.
What... is this?
In a daze, Kazami Haru realized he was standing in the middle of a street, holding a smartphone he didn't recognize. From the other end came a voice, chilling and all too familiar. It was Yamada Ryo.
Within seconds, he adapted to his new state. This full-immersion simulation wasn't like any he'd experienced before.
It felt like he'd stepped into a parallel world.